The Dark Reign of Cipher
by knownobody
Summary: what happens when future meets present and Ash, May, and there friends are suddenly involved in a war that streches across time? this is an AdvanceShipping Story AshxMay Disclaimer: I do not own pokemon REVIEW Please! thanks!
1. Introduction

**The Dark Reign of Cipher**

**Chapter 1**

It was a normal day in the Johto Region where a young brunette coordinator named May was walking through a forest on her way to her next contest in Goldenrod City. She wore a red sleeveless blouse with black biker shorts, short black socks, red running shoes, and a green bandana with a white pokeball insignia on her head. arounder her waist was her green phanypack which contained her pokeballs along with her other possesions. In her arms was a small sleeping fox pokemon called Eevee. She was traveling through the Johto Region on her own trying to become a top coordinator. It was around noon and the young coordinator was starting to feel hungry.

"I guess we should take a lunch break, what do you say eevee?" May said to the fox pokemon in her arms when her stomache growled, waking the pokemon.

"Eevee!" the pokemon agreed with her trainer. Eevee quickly jumped out of May's arms and started to walk besides May while she got some water from a nearby river. She started to prepare some food for herself and set out bowls of pokemon food and water for her pokemon.

"Alright everyone! Come on out!" she said as she threw three pokeballs into the air. They burst open to reveal a blazekin, who picked up its food and ate quietly before leaning up against a tree to take a nap, a young squirtle who ate its food quickly so that it could go play in the nearby river, and a hungry munchlax who ate all of its food in one bite and was looking around for more food, until May gave him some of her Pink Surprise pokeblock. May's fourth pokemon, eevee, was eating its food peacefully with its trainer, listining to her talk. "If we keep going at this pace, we should arrive in Goldenrod City before tomorrow night, there we can get my next ribbion and move one step closer to the Grand Festival!" she said almost leaping in the air with confidence.

"Eee," the eevee said giving may a smile, then her ears shot up as she heard somthing from behind the bushes. May, hearing the noise as well rose to her feet and looked ing the general direction of the noise. her other pokemon didn't seem to notice, except for blazekin who was enjoying his nap until he woke up.

"Drew! If thats you in there, leave me alone! If i told you once, i've told you a thousand times, I will not travel with you and Harley," She said half expecting it to be Drew considering that he has been following her since she beat him in the Violet City Contest. much to her surprise however, instead of Drew coming out of the bushes, a small pokemon with a green helmet and red horns came out. May quickly pulled out her pokedex and flipped it open to learn more about the pokemon that just revealed itself.

"Ralts, the feeling pokemon, ralts can sense the emotions of people with the horns on its head, it rarely shows itself to humans," the pokedex said in a cool voice. The ralts just stood there staring at May curiously before shifting its gaze to the food that she was eating.

"I bet you're hungery aren't you?" May asked the ralts. It nodded its head. "Well then, come here and have some yummy pokemon food!" she said smiling and signaled the ralts to come closer. as it came closer, May got another bowl out of her pack and filled it with pokemon food setting it infront of the ralts. "Are you lost out here? I didn't think that ralts lived all the way out here." '_this acually reminds me of that ralts that Max found when we were traveling in Hoeon with Brock and Ash,' _May thought to herself, but when she thought about Ash, she felt sad for some reason. '_why do i feel so sad? I mean i miss Ash and Brock, but why dose it hurt so much to think about Ash?'_

The ralts looked up at May, sensing her feelings, it tried to cheer her up. "Ralts ralts ral alts ralts," it said to the bummed out trainer. May looked at the ralts, wondering what it meant.

"Eee vee eevee ee," eevee added trying to help cheer May up, which worked, soon a smile erupted on her face and she picked the two pokemon up and hugged them tightly, eevee, already being acustumed to this found it enjoyable as it cooed with delight, but ralts on the other hand was not used to such a tight embrace and was soon finding it hard to breathe.

"hey ralts, do you want to come with us?" May asked the ralts with a smile. The ralts nodded and may took out an empty pokeball and touched ralts on the top of the head with it. The ralts turned red and disapeared into the ball which started to shake, but soon became still with a "ding" sound. "Alright! i caught me a ralts!" she said to no one in particular. _I gatta tell max about this! he'll freak out knowing I caught a ralts while he is too young to go get the one he was gunna get! Then i'll tell Ash, he would probly like it too, that and i wanna talk to him for a bit considering i haven't seen him in a while. Oh i hope he hasn't gotten a girl friend while we have been apart! No, thats impossible, Ash is way too dense take any kind of hint from a girl...' _May thought to herself.

As she pulled out her pokenav to call home and gloat to her brother about her new pokemon, ralts appeared out of its ball and walked over to its new trainer next to eevee who was napping on her lap. She dialed her home phone number and waited for someone to pick up.

"Hello? Oh! Hi May! how is Johto sweety? Got any new ribbions to show us?" Caroline, May's mom. asked.

"Hi Mom! Its great! and no, i don't have any new ribbions, but i do have this cutey right here!" May replied while holding ralts up to the small screen. The ralts simply turned its head to its side in confusion, wondering how a person could fit inside the strange device.

"Awwww its absolutly adorable!" Caroline said. "Just wait till I tell your brother, he is going to be so jealous"

"Speaking of Max, how is he?"

"He is doing just fine! After you left for johto, your brother started helping your father around with the gym, and me around the house! Needless to say, your father and I are so proud!" A sound could be heard from across the phone, it sounded like a door opening and then shutting. "Oh May, your father just got home, would you like to talk to him?"

"Yeah! sure!" May said excitedly.

Caoline handed the phone to Norman, May's father and also the Gym Leader of Petalburg City. "May! Good to see you! I take it things are going well in Johto? and I see you've caught yourself a ralts! Norman said.

"Yup! and I can't wait to get to Goldenrod City and win my next contest!" an enthusiastic May replied

Norman nodded,"Are you going to enter your new ralts in the contest? After all, Hoeon pokemon are very rare in Johto."

"Hmmm, maybe, but i think ralts be too young for contests right now. Maybe after a bit of practice...." May said while rolling the thought over in her head.

"Well, its up to you sweety, and i wish you the best of luck!"

"Thanks daddy!" May replied and hung up the phone. She then dialed Ash's home phone and hoped that he hasn't left an another journey. When someone finally picked up the phone, May was not surprised to see who was on the other side of the line. "Hi Miss K.!" May said.

"Hello May, how many times do i have to tell you, just call me Delia," Delia said with a large smile and a light giggle.

"That would just seem too wierd, Miss K., haha, is Ash there?" May asked with a hint of embarassment and a light blush on her face. Delia's smile slowly vanished.

"Oh, im sorry dear, he left a few days ago, but I got him a pokenav before he left so theres no excuse from him not to be able to call once in a while," Delia said with a wink. "Do you want me to give you his number dear?"

"Yes please!" May answered with a large smile.

"Alright then, im sure he'll be happy to talk to you, hes told me so much about you, in fact I think he likes you," Delia said. She noticed how red May's face turned when she mentioned that, and it made her giggle. '_Awe, my little Ashy has a girlfriend, and she seems like such a sweet girl too'_ Delia thought to herself. She gave May the number to his pokenav and told her to feel free to stop by once in a while.

'_Is what she said true? Dose Ash acually have feelings for me? What did he say about me?'_ May thought to herself. "Well, time to call Ash and tell him all about you!" May said to the little ralts on lap. She dialed Ash's number and prayed that he pick up.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ash had left to travel through a new area called the Sinnoh Region. Ash was sitting on the ground with his trusty pikachu next to him, he was wearing a black vest with yellow stripe across the middle, he had baggy jeans on, a pair of running shoes, and his cap which had a pokeball insignia on the front. His dream was to become a pokemon master. His trusty pikachu had yellow fur, two brown stripes on its back, a lightning shaped tail which was brown at the base, he had two pointy ears that were black at the top and two pouches that contained its large electrical charge on its cheecks. Sitting next to him was a large dark skined man with dark clothes and pointy dark hair. He was sitting over a small fire watching a large pot of stew he was cooking. His name was Brock, and he dreamed of becoming the world's greatest breeder. Next to Brock was a young girl with blue hair, a pink and black shirt, a pink skirt, and pink boots. Her name was Dawn, she just recently became a pokemon trainer and her dream was to become a top coordinator.

"Brock, is lunch ready yet?" Ash asked as his stomache started growling fiercely.

"Hold on Ash, its almost done, why don't you go an get some water, and Dawn you can gather more firewood," Brock said to the two trainers as he handed Ash a couple canteens, which Ash took, and pointed twards the woods were Dawn, who was complaining about having to get up, could get firewood.

"I don't see why I have to go get firewood, Ash was the one who was hungry" an annoyed Dawn said.

"But your the one who is complaining, Dawn, we all do our fair share, that way, everything gets done faster." Brock said without shifting his gaze from the stew. "Besides, the stew will be done soon and this gives you a chance to find other pokemon"

"well, when you put it that way..." Dawn said in a defeated tone. Everyone laughed, except Dawn who sighed and walked away to get firewood with her piplup. While walking in the woods she gathered some sticks, twigs and a few dry leaves for the fire by the time she got back she saw that Brock and Ash had already let their pokemon out so they could eat lunch as well. Dawn felt somewhat betrayed that they started without her, but as she got closer, she say that nobody had gotten any food yet.

"Ah, Dawn, just in time for some good old fashioned home made Brock Stew, let me tell you, Brock is one great chef," Ash said as he noticed Dawn returning with some firewood.

"Is it really that good?" Dawn asked.

"I wouldn't say its great, but everyone else seems to like it," Brock said while handing Dawn a bowl of stew. Dawn ate some of the stew and a smile appeared on her face.

"This stuff is absolutly amazing Brock! You should get your own cooking show!" Dawn suggested to Brock while he blushed from the compliment. "No seriously, you and my mom should swap recipes once in a while."

"You really think so?" Brock asked.

"I think thats a great Idea," Ash added.

"Pi pikachu," pikachu said. Everyone broke out laughing and then began to eat their lunch, and break into conversation.

"So Dawn, why do you wanna become a top coordinator?" Ash asked.

"Probly because of my mom, she was a coordinator back in the day and I want to follow in her foot steps, in fact, she even gave me one of her ribbions for good luck," Dawn said as she pulled out an old eibbion.

"Thats really cool, so you decided to become a coordinator on your own?" Brock asked.

"Yup!" Dawn replied with a large smile. "Do you guys have anything that give you confidence?"

"I have pictures and notes from my family back home," said Brock.

"Cool, what about you Ash?" Dawn asked.

"Well, I... uhh, I half a ribbion," Ash said as he pulled out his Terracota Ribbion Half.

"Half a ribbion? Whats so special about that?" Dawn asked.

Ash looked away, Brock noticed this and said, "Its not about the ribbion, but rather who has the other half." '_Poor guy, I think he is still upset with May leaving. He may be able to hide it, But he can't hide it from me or any of his other good friends, we all see the pain he suffers,'_ Brock thought to himself while still looking at Ash.

"May," Ash wispered to himself. _'I wonder if she's ok? I wonder if she misses me as much as I miss her, Bah! what do I care, she's probly with Drew right now.'_ At the thought of Drew, Ash grew angry. _'But, for some reason I do care, but why? Do I like May? She is my Best Friend, well, human friend at least, or, is it somthing more?'_

"Um, Ash? Are you ok?" Dawn asked giving Ash a worried look.

"What? Oh! Im fine, never better!" Ash lied. Ash's sweat dropped and he began scratching the back of his head with a nervous chuckle.

"If you say so," Dawn said, she wasn't convinced. "So who is this May person anyway?"

"Im not hungry anymore," Ash said in a sad tone and walked off to go wash his bowl. Dawn gave him a worried glace, but he ignored her. Pikachu, sensing his trainer's emotions followed Ash, in an attempt to cheer him up. Brock just sighed, he knew what Ash was going through, everyone seemed to know about ash's feelings towards May except for Dawn, because she just recently meet Ash, and May, because she was almost as dense as Ash was.

"Was it somthing I said?" Dawn asked Brock. Brock sighed again.

"Dawn, I gatta tell you somthing about Ash, and May..." Brock started as he told the young girl how ash and May met and how they became best friends, and even how they eventually developed feelings for each other. He even told her how Ash and May were so afraid of ruining their friendship that they never told each other how they felt, but how they both told Brock.

"So, those two have a crush on each other, but are too afraid to confess to each other?"

"yup, but theres more, May is afraid that Ash may have feelings for Misty, an old traveling companion of ours, and Ash is afraid that May has feelings for her rival Drew, in fact, Ash saw her decision to go to Johto alone as an excuse to be with Drew, which isn't true."

"I see, so thats why he got all upset, poor guy, I feel bad for him." Dawn looked in the direction that Ash walked off in. "Ohh i got an idea," Dawn gave and evil smirk.

"I don't like the look on your face Dawn..." Brock said half scared.

"Don't worry, all I need is May's pokenav number," Dawn said tapping her chin.

"Sorry Dawn, I don't have it," Brock said with a disapointed tone.

"Are you kidding me!! How are we gunna get them together if you don't have her number!?" Dawn yelled at Brock.

"Get who together?" Ash asked as he returned with his washed bowl. Pikachu was on his shoulder, and his sweat dropped. with his sensitive hearing he was able to hear Dawn's entire plan.

"Ohh nothing Ash," Dawn said nervously waving a hand in front of her face trying to act innocent.

"Right..." Ash said. he was about to sit down next to them when he froze in shock.

"Ash? Are you ok?" Brock asked.

"Yeah, its just my pokenav," Ash said as he reached in his pocket and pulled out a small yellow device.

"Since when did you have a pokenav?" Brock asked ash.

"Since my mom thought I should have one so I can always keep in contact," Ash answered. _'Hmm, I wonder who it could be, I thought only my mom and Profesor Oak had the number, and this isn't either of them...'_ "Hello?" he spoke into the match call module on the pokenav.

"Hey Ash!" a sweet, gentle voice replied.

'_Its May!' _Ash thought. "Hey May! hows Johto going for you?" Ash spoke to the brunette trainer on the small video screen. "Got any ribbions yet?"

"Yeah its great and I did manage to get one ribbion so far!" May said as she held up the ribbion she won at Violet city in front of her face. "Get any badges yet?" she asked back.

"No, not yet," Ash said with a hint of disapointment in his voice. '_I wonder if she caught any new pokemon yet,'_ "So how many new pokemon get you catch so far?"

"Well, acually, I did get one new pokemon so far," She replied, and then moved her pokenav so Ash could see her new pokemon.

"Wow May! You caught a ralts? last time I saw one of those was back in Hoeon with Max," Ash said.

"I know, isn't she cute! Im thinking about entering her in my next contest, but we're gunna need to work on alot before she is ready." May said.

"I bet Max is jealous, you catch a ralts, and he still isn't old enough to get the one he promised he would come back for" Ash said with a large grin.

"Oh I know, I can't wait till he finds out, ohh I just wish I could see the look on his face," May said with a giggle. "Ash, I've missed you guys so much, we gatta see each other soon!"

"You bet!" Ash said, nodding in agreement. Pikachu lept onto Ash's shoulder so he could see May As well.

"Pikapi!" Pikachu exclaimed.

"Good to see you too pikachu" May said with a smile. "So Ash, now that you have my number, you better call once in a while," she said looking at him seriously.

"Yeah s-sure!" Ash said with a blush appearing on his face. "Oh, and speaking of numbers, how did you get mine?" Ash asked out of confusion.

"Oh, a girl has her ways," may said with a wink. "And Ash?"

"Yeah?"

"Your mom asked me to remind you to change your "you know what" everyday!" May said with a smile while sticking her tounge out playfully.

Ash could feel his face heat up with embarasment, this caused May to break out laughing, and soon Ash followed and laughed as well. Soon however, May said she had to go, which made Ash a little sad.

"Aw, don't worry Ash, i'll keep in contact," She said, and with that she hung up.

"So who was that Ash?" Dawn asked, even though she already knew.

"Oh, it was just May, nothing special" Ash answered, with a light blush appearing on his face before he shook it off. But Dawn already noticed it.

"Right," Dawn said playfully _'It seems that this May girl keeps dropping hints, but Ash is too dense to pick up on them,'_

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

'_That Ash, still as dense as usual,'_ May thought to herself, it was just then that she realised she was laying down in the grass and that eevee was introducing ralts to the other pokemon. '_But thats alright, he pulls it off in a cute way,'_ May giggled at the thought. She was snapped from her thoughts as she noticed her blazekin rising to its feet staring off in the distance. when she turned to see what he was staring at, she couldn't belive her eyes.

Maybe a mile or two away from where they were, a giant pillar of green light shone, it rose from the ground to the clouds, and its light was bright enough for someone to think that it was a reflection of light from the sun. May got on her feet and started packing up. She recalled her pokemon and started towards the light. Her curiosity kept her moving, with a burning desire to find its source. after all, large pillars of light were not a common sight.

about four minutes into her new walk she noticed that the beam faded away, so she broke into a run. As she was running a pokemon popped out of its ball and found itself sitting on may's shoulder.

"Ralts?" it asked. wondering why its trainer was running.

"Eve eevee, vee vee ee," eevee said from May's other shoulder. The ralts nodded and started to use its psychic powers to try and find the source, May noticed this and let ralts steer her in the right direction. Eventually, she came upon the spot where the light was, but what she found almost brought a tear to her eye.

There was a large circle about 10 yards in diameter of burnt soil and in the middle was a young man with several cuts and brusies holding an injured pokemon in his arms. leaning over the boy was a gardevoir, she was trying to wake the boy up while one of her hands was shinning and she was waving it over the boy. As soon as May took a step closer, the gardevoir shot its eyes up to meet her eyes head on, May could see tears in the pokemon's eyes. May carefully and calmly approached the boy with tears building up in her eyes as the horrors were revealed to her eyes. among the boy's various cuts and brusies, the worst was a deep gash that streached from his left shoulder to the right side of his waist. May saw what the gardevoir was trying to do, it was using its powers to try and heal the boys wounds, but it knew that he was going to die if he didn't get medical attention.

"Gardvoir, he needs to see a doctor," May said in a sad tone. _'Oh my gosh! what happened, It looks like he was almost torn in half, at least the pokemon aren't as badly injured.'_ That was true, the small green pokemon in the boy's arms had only a few brusies, but it was too scared to leave his arms. The gardevoir had a few more brusies, but nothing serious. '_Is he gunna live long enough to make it to the hospital?'_

"_Where is the closest hospital?"_ It took May a moment to realise that the gardevoir used its telepathy to talk to May.

"That would be the pokemon center at Goldenrod City, but thats at least a day away," May said. The gardevoir looked at her with slightly irritated look and grabbed one of May's arms with one hand and placed the other on the top of the boy's head. May felt uneasy as she realised she wasn't in the woods anymore but rather just outside of Goldenrod City. She realised that gardevoir had just teleported them, but it took alot out of the pokemon as it almost fell over in exhaustion.

May, seeing how close they were to the city got out a pokeball, "Go blazekin!" she shouted, the red blaze pokemon made its enterence and turned twards the trainer for instructions. "Blazekin, i need you to take this boy to the pokemon center now! We'll meet up with you when we get there," she said trying to support the tired gardevoir. Blazekin understanding the urgencey picked up the boy and sprinted towards town.

"Eevee," eevee said in a sad voice with its ears down.

"I don't know eevee, I just don't know," May said looking at the little fox pokemon. Her ralts jumped off her shoulder and tried to lift the gardevoir, but couldn't manage to lift it up. "Good thinking ralts, we gatta get moving." May wrapped her arm around the gardevoir and lifted it up and started to carry it towards the pokemon center.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"So Ash, what did May talke about?" Brock asked the trainer. Brock had a grin on his face and Ash knew exactly why.

"It wasn't "that" kind of talk Brock, it was a simple chat, she wanted to say hi, and check up, thats all," Ash said. '_At least I think thats all.' _"pikachu, what am I gunna do? if I don't act soon im sure she will fall for Drew, and then i'll lose her forever, what am I gunna do?" he asked his pikachu.

"Pi pika pika pikachu!" the electic mouse replied.

"Yeah, your right, I know! i'll tell her how I feel tonight!" Ash said with a bunch of confidence. Pikachu nodded his head in return.

"I knew it! You do like May!" the young blunette said. Ash sighed, he knew he was caught and that there was no way to get out of it. "Wow, you look like Paul. Don't worry, im gunna help you talk to May about your feelings!" Dawn said with a cheery smile.


	2. No Means No

**The Dark Reign of Cipher**

**Chapter 2**

"I don't think that's a good idea Dawn," Ash said after hearing Dawn's plan. '_Personally I would rather tell May about my feelings in person,'_ he thought to himself.

"Oh it'll work, trust me, I know it will," a confident Dawn replied. Brock just arrived with the rest of the clean dishes packed away.

"You guys ready to go?" he asked.

"You bet!" Ash and Dawn replied. They all got up, pikachu hopped onto Ash's shoulder, and they started back down the road towards Oreburgh City. In Oreburgh City was Ash's first gym battle and Dawn's first contest. While traveling, the group managed to stumble across a beautiful valley full of wild pokemon.

"Wow, look at all of them!" Dawn said in awe of the sight. Dawn was about to get out her pokedex, but Ash already had his out and pointed it towards a small bird pokemon in a tree.

"Starly, the small bird pokemon, starly flock in great numbers, though small, they flap their wings with great power," the pokedex chimed. Ash motioned towards the electric mouse on his shoulder. Pikachu, could read Ash's mind and jumped off his shoulder, ready to battle.

"Pikachu, give starly a taste of your thunderbolt attack!" Ash ordered pointing towards starly.

"Pi-ka-chu!!" pikachu yelled while sending a large bolt of electricity at the starly. The starly didn't notice the attack until it hit him and he fell to the ground. Ash threw an empty pokeball at the pokemon, and watched the ball nervously as it shook. When it it stoped with a "thud" sound, Ash walked over and picked up the ball with a grin on his face.

Dawn on the other hand, had her attention on a small bunny pokemon. "Buneary, the rabbit pokemon, it slams foes by sharply uncoiling its rolled ears. It stings enough to make a grown-up cry in pain," her pokedex chimed.

"Go piplup! Use bubble on that buneary!" Dawn ordered to her piplup as it appeared out of its ball. Piplup fired a few bubbles at the buneary, but it looked up and easily dodged the bubbles. The buneary retaliated with its bounce attack, which knocked piplup out, but buneary was unable to stop itself, and smashed its head into a tree. Everyone's sweat dropped as the buneary had a dazed look in its eyes. "Pokeball go!" Dawn yelled as she saw her chance. As the buneary disappeared into the ball, Dawn watched with great intensity as the ball rolled. "Hurray! I caught a buneary!" She shouted with joy as she picked up the now still ball. She went over and picked up her piplup. "Thanks piplup, you did great! You deserve a nice long break," she said as she returned piplup to its pokeball.

"Great job Dawn,"Ash congratulated the young trainer. "Did you catch anything Brock?"

"Uhh, well, I found this happiny," Brock replied. Ash pulled out his pokedex to examine the happiny.

"Happiny, the young nurse pokemon, it is the pre-evolved form of chansey and carries a small egg shaped rock to immitate chansey," the dex said.

"Awesome Brock, a nurse pokemon will be great for you in becoming a great pokemon breeder!" Dawn said.

'_Maybe I should call May now, no, its too early, or is it? I don't know... What am I gunna do? If I don't get her off my mind i'm gonna go insane! But for some reason i can't get her out of my head. Do I love her? Dose she love me? Uh! I gatta ask her before I kill mysef.'_ Ash was thinking to himself, but what he didn't notice was that the others were watching him as he acted so strangly.

"Hey loverboy, lets get going, it's getting dark," Dawn said with a giggle.

"Loverboy!?" Ash asked with a hint of irritation in his voice. Brock and dawn both broke out with laughter and started to make fun of Ash while he was just getting more irritated. "So how much further till we get to the pokemon center?" Ash asked Brock in an attempt to change the topic of discussion.

"It should be just over this hill," Brock said.

"Alright! nice warm bath, here I come!" Dawn yelled and became to run passed the other two, soon Ash followed and then Brock. When they finally arrived at the pokemon center, the sun was just setting on the horizon. "Nurse Joy! can you look after our pokemon? And can we get a room for the night?" Dawn asked the nurse.

"Certinly dear, I would be more than happy to!" The nurse said with a smile handing Dawn a room key. "Your room is up stairs, fourth one on the right."

"Thanks Nurse Joy!" Ash said while handing her his pokemon, only pikachu didn't go, he was happy with staying with Ash.

"Ah! Nurse Joy! Your beauty shines with the intensity of a thousand suns! How about you and me get a room of our own and love each other so we can spread the warmth of our love across..." Brock started before Ash cut him off.

"I guess its my responsibility to stop in Max's stead now," Ash said while dragging Brock away by his ear.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

May was exhausted by the time she got to the door of the pokemon. She was still carrying the gardevoir over her shoulders. Her ralts and her eevee were right by her side giving their trainer a worried look. The gardevoir had long since passed out due to exhaustion. '_Poor thing, I wonder what happened, what ever it was, it couldn't have been good.'_ May thought to herself as she stepped through the doors.

"Oh my! Not another one?" A worried Nurse Joy asked. "Whats going on today? First that poor boy and his celebi, and now this poor gardevoir, whats next?"

"My blazekin got he safly then?" May asked the nurse.

"The one that carried that poor boy, he arrived a while ago, in fact, your blazekin is right over there," the nurse said, motioning the blaze pokemon to approach.

"Oh good," May said. '_I feel alot better knowing he made it here'_

"Now dear, why don't yo let me take that gardevoir off your hands." the nurse said while giving May a room key. "There, I suggest that you go and wash up and get some rest, you look like your about to drop"

"Ok," May said with a yawn, while wipping her eyes. She was very tired, and as she walked to her room to take a nap, she almost fell over, but her blazekin caught her, and carried her to her room with eevee and ralts on his shoulder. He carried them into the room and laid his trainer on the bed and pulled the covers over her. She unconciously made herself comfertable and a small smile appeared on her face.

When May woke up, it was almost sundown. "How long was I out?" she asked to no one in particular. She noticed her blazekin was sleeping in a corner faceing her, and ralts was watching tv with eevee . The sight made May smile. '_Those two are like two little kids.' _Then she realised she had completly forgotten about the boy and his pokemon. May quickly washed up and went down to the lobby, hoping to see Nurse joy. When she got to the main desk, Nurse Joy had just returned.

"Nurse Joy! Is that boy and his pokemon gonna be alright?" May asked, half pleading for him to be ok.

"His pokemon will be fine, they just need some rest, as for the trainer, I don't know. He has more injuries than I can count, not to mention that gash across his chest," she replied. "I was able to stop the bleeding and stich him up when he first arrived, but he's gunna have to refrain from doing much work unless he wants to kill himself."

"Is he awake?"

"I don't think so, but i'll let you know if his condition changes," the nurse said with a hopeful smile.

"Ok, Thanks Nurse Joy!" may said returning the smile.

"Now why don't you leave your pokemon here so they can rest as well?"

"Ok, here you go, some of my pokemon are back in the room, is it ok if I leave them there?"

"It would be no problem at all!"

May returned to her room, and told her pokemon to stay there and that blazekin was in charge. As she turned to leave, eevee jumped onto her shoulder. "You wanna come with me eevee?" May asked the fox pokemon. It nodded, and they left out of the pokemon center together. She didn't get ten steps away from the center before she heard an all too familiar voice.

"Well well well, look who showed up." a certin green haired coordinator said, while

"Drew can you just leave me alone for once?" May replied scornfully.

"May, i'm hurt. I never thought that you would become so immature as that lame excuse of a trainer called Ash." Drew retorted.

That threw May over the edge. "Drew! Ash is a far better person than you could ever hope to be! In fact, if you ask me, your jealous of Ash he's such a good person and your obviously not!" May said with a smirk. May could see the anger build up in his face, she had to struggle to hide a laugh. The thought of Drew being jealous of Ash seemed funny to her.

"Now why would I be jealous of the oaf!?" Drew yelled.

"I don't know, why are making such a big deal over it?" May asked. Her temper was rising, and she knew it. "What ever, just leave me alone Drew, I don't have the patience to deal with you." She walked off, leaving Drew to glare at her. Her eevee, turned around on her shoulder and decided to give Drew a raspberry, which made Drew even angerier.

'_Who dose she think she is! How could she just walk off on me, Drew! But worst of all, how could she accuse me of being jealous of some loser!?'_ Drew thought to himself. "Hmpf!, What ever, you'll come back," he said as he strided into the pokemon center.

Once May was sure he was out of earshot, she burst out with laughter. '_Drew is so stupid, when will he learn? Im not interested in him, and I never will be.' _

"Eevee!" her eevee chimed in agreement. May giggled, after hearing eevee agree with her.

"Oh I can't wait till we get to see Ash again," May said with a light blush creeping across her face.

"Eev vee," Eevee said. When May looked at her eevee, she could just barely see a little bit of red.

"Aww, dose my little eevee had a crush on a certin pikachu?" May asked eevee with a baby tone. When eevee's face turned to a deeper shade of red, May couldn't help but giggle. "It's ok eevee, that just means we're both in the same situation. at least pikachu isn't as dense as Ash is." The little eevee smiled and then jumped into May's arms and fell asleep. May smiled and pet the sleeping pokemon. "Now then lets go register for that contest!" '_Who should I use? Eevee is good, but some one else might work, blazekin isn't much of a contest preformer, and munchlax dosen't have the attention span. Squirtle? Ralts? Ralts seems too young to battle, besides im sure she would do better if she watched a real contest battle before acually preforming in one. Hmm, squirtle or eevee?'_ "Uh, I can't decide!" May said nearly waking up the sleeping eevee.

As May entered the contest building so she could register, she asked what what the basic rules were.

"This is a R-1 contest, you need at least one ribbion to compete, and the pokemon you use in the appeal and the battle rounds must be different," the receptionist said. A grin appeared on May's face.

'_Alright! now I can use ralts in the appeal round, and eevee in the battle rounds.'_ She thought to herself. "I would like to register please."

"Alright here you go," the receptionist said while handing May the sign-in sheet. May filled it out and returned it to the receptionist. "Thank you, and good luck, the contest is in three days."

"Ok, thanks!" May smiled back. May turned and left the building and looked down at the now awake eevee as it snuggled against her chest. "Next stop, the pokemart, then ramen,"May said to the eevee.

"Eevee!" eevee agreed. Eevee loved ramen just as much as May did, which was no surprise because pokemon usually inherited the personalities and characteristics of their trainers.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Back at the pokemon center in Goldenrod City, May's pokemon were sitting in her room. Ralts was laying down on the bed with her head in her hands watching tv, while blazekin was still sitting in the same corner.

"I wish they would hurry up, im hungry," ralts said (pokemon language of course) as its stomache growled.

"Well, if I my our trainer, she probably went to go register for the contest thats coming up, then she'll go shopping for a bit, and then she'll go and get some food," blazekin replied, not moving from his corner.

"Contest?" ralts asked with a confused face.

"Yup, its a like a compitition where trainers show off their pokemon and they're abilities, back when I was a combuskin, i preformed in a contest but almost burnt May to a crisp. Yet some how we still managed to pull it together and everything turned out ok," blazekin said while remembering the contest back in Lilycove City. '_It seems like that was forever ago,'_ "Don't get me wrong, the contests are loads of fun, but the crouds can easily make you nervous and then who knows what could happen."

"Hmm, You know what! I wanna preform in a contest, and when I do, i'll win!" ralts said with much enthusiasm. It stood up and struck a victory pose. Blazekin let out a small laugh.

"You remind me of someone, someone who I haven't seen in a while."

"Who?" ralts asked, Even though she knew because she could read blazekin's thoughts.

"A boy named Ash Ketchum, he helped May get where she is today, he taught her almost everything she knows about pokemon, and she was really sad when they parted ways. Ash was always the confident person, even when things were bad, he was always able to pull through and he could inspire confidence easily. May acually developed a crush on him, and he developed one for her, but they're both too dense to notice that they are both in love with each other." blazekin said with humor in his voice.

"And how dose that relate to me?"

"Your confident!"

"Yeah so? what's wrong with being confident?" the ralts asked playfully, putting her hands on her waist.

"Nothing, you just remind me of him, thats all," blazekin replied deffensivly. Ralts laughed upon hearing blazekin's deffence.

"Oh don't worry, I was just messing with you! So that boy that May was talking to earlier was this Ash person?"

"Yup, thats right."

"Hmm," ralts said as it turned its attention back towards the television. Just at that moment, blazekin's stomache growled and his face turned red in embarassment. "Apparently your hungry as well!" ralts said without even looking at him. She gave a light chuckle.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

May just walking out of the pokemart with a small bag of provisions in her arms and eevee walking next to her. Well eevee, one stop left!" she said happily. Eevee nodded and walked right beside her as they walked towards a small resturant. "Oh great, Drew is here," May said un-enthusiasticly. "I guess we can get our food to go. No wait! I have a better idea, we can get some food for the others and we can all eat together!" May said happily.

"Vee!" eevee said, also happily. Eevee jumped and onto May's shoulder as they went in. The chef saw them as they walked in.

"Hello there, and what can I get for you?" the chef asked.

"Um, could I get two orders of ramen, an order of steamed vegitables, an order of riceballs, and..." May started. '_What would ralts like? I guess I can just get a sample platter, and munchlax with eat anything.'_ "And two sample platters please, and this is to go, " May finished.

"Thats a large appatite for a little lady and her eevee," the chef said. May smiled and little out a small giggle. "Anyway, that will be $72," the chef added. May paid the chef and waited for her food to be finished. Unfortunatly for her, Drew noticed her and started to walk towards her.

"Hey May, who would have thought of seeing you here?" Drew said with a cool tone. May could barly resist they urge to throe up on him. "I was just wondering, maybe we could go see a movie or somthing tomorrow, what do you say?" he asked.

"Wow, that sounds like fun, but I got a better idea," May started.

"Yeah? What?" Drew asked happily. '_She's acually accepting? Great! Now i can steal her from Ash!'_

"My idea is, leave me alone!" May said as she blew up in his face. "You insult my friends, you insult my pokemon, you insult my abilities as a coordinator after every contest, and you think a few sweet words and some roses will make it all better? Your a joke! Leave me alone and stop following me!" May yelled in his face. She could see the shock in his eyes, but she didn't care, she was sick of him always trying to get to her and trying to steal her from her friends, her real friends, the ones who helped up her when she was down, he looked after her, the friends that would always take her in. She was sick of Drew always following her. She knew Drew would only like her until some other person came by.

"But.." Drew started before May cut him off. Eevee was growling at Drew.

"No buts Drew, just leave me alone and never bother me again!"

Drew looked down at the floor, and walked out. As soon as he was out of the resturant he flipped his hair and walked off with his pride-filled stride. '_I hate Drew, but I didn't want it to come to that, but the stupid boy can't take a hint!'_ Eevee looked at May with a scared look, sure, eevee disliked Drew as much as May did, but she never saw her that angery before. "Im fine eevee, don't worry," she said, feeling sorry for the little fox pokemon. She picked the eevee up and held it against her chest. "Im sorry if I scared you eevee."

"Mam? Your order is ready," the chef said as he handed her a bag full of plastic cartons. May thanked him and left. she headed back twards the pokemon center with supplies in one hand, food in the other, and a hungry eevee on her shoulder.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ash, Dawn, and Brock were sitting down in the pokemon center cafeteria. After days of traveling, they finally made it to Oreburgh City, and they were not eating dinner with their pokemon. Brock was just finishing his plate, while Ash had a mountain of food on his. Pikachu was sitting on the table with a bottle of ketchup. Dawn's plate was half empty due to the fact that she was distracted by Ash's eating habbits.

"Holy cow Ash, slow down! Your never gunna impress May with those mannors!" Dawn yelled at Ash with her hands on her waist. She was sitting infront of Ash. and beside Brock. "Don't tell me you always eat like this in public," She said partially disgusted.

"Dawn, Ash always eats like this, and belive it or not, so dose May," Brock said to the girl.

"Your kidding me right? I don't know how any girl would have such disgusting eating habbits," and still maintain a good figure," Dawn said, with a puzzeled look on her face.

"May is the only girl I know that can match my appatite!" Ash said in between mouthfulls of food.

"Um, you guys, I think we're getting some un-wanted attention," Brock said looking around. Altmost every other person in the cafeteria was in awe at the sight of Ash's appitite. "I think its time to go," Brock said while he stood up.

"Right behind you, you coming Ash?" Dawn asked as she got up to follow Brock.

"Yeah, i'm coming," Ash said as he got up and followed the other two out and into the lobby with pikachu on his shoulder. When they got there, there was a man who looked like he just came out of a mine at the receptionist desk getting his pokemon from Nurse joy.

"Thanks again Nurse Joy," the man said.

"Of course, anytime, and how are things back at the gym?" the Nurse said.

"Things are great.." the man started.

"Wait, your the Oreburgh Gym Leader?" Ash asked as he walked up to them.

"Yup, the name is Roark, and I run the gym here. What can I do for you?" Roark asked.

"I wanna have a gym battle with you, so i can earn my first Sinnoh Leauge badge!" Ash answered with determination gleaming in his eyes.

"Great! But how about we have our battle tomorrow, it's kinda late out right now," Roark suggested.

"Fine by me!" Ash answered.

"Pi pikachu!" pikachu answered in agreement. The group went to their room to get ready for bed, Dawn jumped in the bathroom so she could change and brock just fell asleep on his bunk. Ash lay awake on the bottom bunk across the room from Brock.

"Do you think we should call May now pikachu?" Ash asked the electric mouse pokemon that was sitting beside him.

"Pika pi," it replied with a nodd. ash smiled and pulled out his pokenav from his backpack. He went through the short list of registered numbers and selected May's number. as the phone dialed, ash could feel his heart rate race.

'_I don't get it, I can battle in leauge turnaments where thousands of people are watching, but i get nervous when i'm about to talk to May. Maybe I do love her,'_

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

May was sitting in her room with her pokemon, eating their dinner. Blazekin was happily eating riceballs, squirtle was chewing on steamed vegitables with pure joy, munchlax ate an entire sample plater and fell asleep in a chair by the desk. Eevee was licking up her ramen, and ralts was eating parts of her sample plater. May was almost done with her ramen when she heard he pokenav's ringer go off.

"I wonder who that could be," She said as she pulled it out of her bag. she checked the caller ID, and recognised the number. '_Its Ash!'_ Her heart did a sumersault in her chest and happily answered the phone.

"Hey Ash! whats up?" May asked the raven haired boy on the other side of the line. Eevee's ears shot up when she heard the trainer's voice.

"Hey May! just checking up on you, I see your eating ramen with your pokemon," Ash said with a chuckle. Pikachu appeared right next to Ash on the screen.

"Pika pika!" pikachu said. At the sound of pikachu's voice, eevee completly abandoned her ramen and hopped onto May's shoulder.

"Eev eevee!" eevee said to pikachu.

"Pikachu," pikachu responded. Eevee sat there smiling.

"So Ash, did you get your badge yet?" May asked.

"Nope, i'm getting it first thing tomorrow," Ash said with his traditional grin. May couldn't help but laugh.

"Did you get your ribbion yet?"

"No, acually I've had an exhausting day," May's smile disapeared.

Ash's smile disapeared as well. "What happened?" he asked. May began to tell Ash about the day she had, starting with seeing the beam of light and ending with her returning to her room. "Well, May, you should probably get some rest, you got alot of training to do tomorrow if your gonna get ralts ready for the contest."

"Yeah, your right, good night Ash, sweet dreams!"

"Sweet dreams May," Ash said with a small smile. He barly had enough time to see what looked like May blowing him a kiss, but wasn't totally sure.

'_I hope he can understand that hint, if not, then he is the deffinition of dense,'_ May thought as she got up and walked into the bathroom to change into her pijamas. When she got out, she went to the bed and got under the covers. "Good night you guys!" May said as she fell asleep.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

'_Did she just blow a kiss at me? If she did, then dose that mean she likes me back?'_ "Did you see that pikachu?" Ash asked pikachu. Pikachu nodded, and then curled up into a ball and fell asleep next to Ash. Ash took off his jacket and fell asleep as well, with a large smile across his face.

Dawn came out of the bathroom after she took a shower and changed into her pajamas. She took at look at Brock, and sighed as she shook her head. Then she took a look at Ash, and saw the huge grin on his face. "I wonder what he's so happy about," she said to herself. Then she saw the pokenav in his hand. "He must have been talking to May before he fell asleep. Dawn climbed the ladder to the bunk above Ash and crawled into bed. "I can't wait to tease Ash tomorrow," she said as she started falling asleep.


	3. Awakening

**The Dark Reign of Cipher**

**Chapter 3**

"_Quickly! we must cut them off before its too late!" a boy said. The boy was standing next to his Gardevoir and was in the middle of a large forest with several older trainers, all of which had a lot of experience. He was wearing a white jacket, reinforced with some metal padding and had a symbol on the chest. The symbol had the battle frontier symbol centered on a sheild. The boy wore gray padded pants and black boots. He also had brown messy hair and sapphire blue eyes. The other trainers wore the same thing, except their colors were either ruby red or sapphire blue._

_"If we don't get to Celebi in time..." one of the other trainers started, "who knows what will happen."_

_"_Don't think like that!" _the Gardevoir said using telepathy. "_What we need to do is split up into teams so we can cover more ground."

"_Right, thats a good idea, i'll take a couple of teams and try to form a perimeter around the forest, if they escape, we'll be waiting," another said._

_"Alright! since I personally know Celebi, Gardevoir and I will search the forest for it," the boy started. "Wish us luck, and if anyone runs into any trouble at all, fire up a flare. We have to stop Chipher before they destroy the past as well as the present. Well? What are you waiting for? Move out!" he ordered. The group dispersed and the boy and his Gardevoir ran into the forest searching everywhere they could to find the small time pokemon. "_Well Gardevoir, looks like its just you and me again, just like old times"_ he said in his mind so Gardevoir could read his thoughts. she smiled and nodded_

_"_Yup!"_ she replied. They spent a long time searching, but they didn't find any sign of Celebi. _

_"Celebi, where are you?" the boy grunted. It wasn't long before they heard the sound of metal clashing and saw Pidgeys flying out of the trees. "Come on Gardevoir lets go!" The two ran as fast as they could towards the origin of the disterbance. The boy was disgusted with what he found._

_"Haha I finally have you Celebi, now we can use your power to bring Cipher's empire to the world in a time with no resistance, our victory will be complete!" a man said. The man wore a gray overcoat, it had a purple stripe running down the middle and branched off to the sides around the waist. Hey had gray hair and light brown eyes. His coat covered his entire body except for his hands. One of his hands was holding a trapped Celebi that was suspended in a spherical prision. The other hand was clenched in a fist. "With you, we can go back in time and eliminate all our enemies before they become a threat!" The man let out a maniacal laugh that could shatter anyone's soul. _

_"I don't think so Darious!" the boy said coming out of the woods. "Let Celebi go!" he demanded._

_"Tisk tisk tisk, you really don't know when to give up do you? Why can't you just admit defeat? Just give up, and you can live."_

_"If I have to chose between living a life in fear and darkness because I turned tail and ran when I could have done somthing about it, and dying, I would choose death!" "Cipher will be defeated, i'll make sure of it!"_

_"So be it!" Darios yelled as he pulled a pokeball out from his sleeve and threw it into the air. The ball opened and a Salamence appeared. "Salamence! kill him!" he yelled as he pointed to the boy._

_"_Gardevoir! try and free Celebi, i'll hold him off_." "Go Dragonite!" the boy yelled tossing a pokeball into the air. _

_"Flame thrower!" Darious commanded._

_"Dragonite! Counter it with dragon breath, then use dragon claw!" The two beams collided and formed an explosion, out of the dust Dragonite dashed through and struck Salamence with its glowing claws. "Now hit it with airial ace!" _

_"Salamence! hyper beam attack!" Darious said with a growing temper. Dragonite was about to disapear and strike Salamence, but it wasn't fast enough and took a direct hit from the hyper beam. Dragonite was about to crash into the ground, but it recovered just in time and pulled out of the dive._

_"Alright Dragonite!" the boy yelled with much enthusiasum. "Now lets give it a taste of your hyper beam!" Dragonite nodded and prepared its beam._

_"Salamence! Use flame thrower and hit it before it attacks!" Darious ordered. The beams collided once more, but the flame thrower was easily swept aside and Salamence took a critical hit from Dragonite's hyper beam. Salamence crashed into the ground with a dazed look in its eyes. "No! Salamence, return," Darious said with a growl. "This is still far from over boy, go.." Darious said before he was interupted._

_"That is enough Darious, if you can't kill him, then just give up already, if you battle him, you will lose," a voice said._

_"Y-yes Grandmaster, at once," Darious said bowing to the odd figure who had just appeared. The figure wore a large black cloak with a red and black mask which hid his face under the hood of the cloak. The mask looked like a demon's face. The figures cloak covered his entire body except for his hands._

_"I see that once again, you have failed to eliminate this boy, and so now, I have to take matters into my own hands, go Deoxys!" The man said as he threw a masterball in the air. the space pokemon that came out of it immediatly took the shape of its attack form._

_"_I got Celebi out, we should go,"_ Gardevoir said in a worried tone. She saw the look on her trainer's face, and the terror and rage that it contained. She immediatly sensed danger and tried to calm him down by wrapping her mind around his, trying to take the fear and anger away, but it wasn't working._

'Thats it! thats the one! Thats the pokemon the took everything away from me!'_ the boy thought to himself as he instintivly grasped the locket that he wore under his jacket. "Finally, I get my revenge! Now i will personally destroy Cipher!" he shouted in anger and vengence. He knew he wasn't himself, he knew Gardevoir was trying to soothe him, but he shut her out of his mind, all he cared about was defeating this man that stood before him now._

_"Your confident, i'll give you that, but your no match, Deoxys is the perfect shadow pokemon, nothing can defeat it, not even you!" The man said._

_"We'll see about that! Dragonite! Hyper beam attack!" the boy ordered. Dragonite, still tired from its battle with Salamence took a while to charge up its attack, and when it fired, Deoxys didn't even try to dodge it. The explosion created a cloud of smoke and dust. when the cloud disapeared, Deoxys stood there, not even phased by the attack, for it shifted from its attack form to its deffence form in a split second. The deoxys once again returned to its attack form and shot a shadow ball at dragonite. The amount of power in it surprised the boy as his dragonite crashed into the ground with a dazed look in its eyes. "Dragonite! No!"_

_"_We have to go!"_ Gardevoir shouted to him, but he didn't listin he was still in shock over what had happened. The boy returned the Dragonite to its ball and looked up just in time to see another shadow ball come flying towards him. Gardevoir teleported in front of him with her back towards Deoxys in an attempt to sheild her trainer from the attack. With Celebi still in her arms after being freed, it was completly terrified at the scene going on. With only a split second to act, the boy tried to move Gardevoir and Celebi out of the way, but he wasn't quick enough and all three of them got hit. The three of them smached into a tree. As the boy struggled to get to his feet he opened his eyes to see Deoxys standing right in front of him, with wrath in its eyes. Two of the tenticles on on one of its sides merged to create a cleave like arm and with it, Deoxys slashed his torso, from shoulder to waist. It cut through his jacket like it was nothing and tore the flesh that was underneath it._

' I've failed'_ he thought as his blood splatered all over Deoxys, who seemed to take no notice of it. The boy fell to the ground with his back to the tree as he was struggling to maintain conciousness. Gardevoir was horrified and quickly tried to heal him with her recovery abilities, but the gash was too big and was bleeding too ferociously. The Celebi, sensing the sacrifice its old friend just made to save its life, tried to repay the boy who was in grave danger and prepared to make a time jump. _

_" You can keep the Celebi, I got what I needed from it, and judging by how much your bleeding, I would say, you'll be dead within a few hours, so enjoy them while you can," the cloaked man said as he returned Deoxys to its masterball. Deoxys didn't take its eyes off of the boy until it was completly engulfed in its ball. '_ Deoxys is the perfect shadow pokemon, but i've never seen it that determined to kill, it must want to finish the job it started all those years ago,'_ the man thought. with that, he turned and left with darious close behind._

_"G-gardi-v-voir, i-i'm sorry I-I should have, listined," the boy mumbled to the Gardivoir that was now crying uncontrolably over him before he lost conciousness. Celebi was now done preparing for a time jump and shot through a pillar of emerald green light. When Celebi finally made the group re-emerge into the time stream, there was no signs of a battle except for the damage they had sustained. Gardivoir was still trying to heal the gash, but she was unsuccessful and soon found it impossible to hold back anymore tears. She kept trying to heal him, just hoping, praying that it would work until her concentration broke as a yound girl with an Eevee and a Ralts on her shoulder appeared. The girl was horrified by the sight and was trying to hold back tears._

_

* * *

_

"No!" the boy shouted as he sprung out of bed. Immediatly not noticing where he was, he started to look around and realised he was in an emergency room. Noticing a severe jolt of pain, he looked down at his torso and saw that it was completly covered in blood soaked bandages. Aparently that sudden spring had torn some of the stiches on his chest and it started to bleed again. Not even thirty seconds later did a Nurse Joy come into the room.

"Oh dear, it looks like you've torn some stiches," she said looking at the soaked bandages. "But at least your awake." The nurse carefully removed the bandages, revealing a large gash, redid the torn stiches, and replaced the bandages. "There, as long as you don't strain yourself too hard, then you'll be fine," she said with a smile.

"Thanks," he replied. "where am I anyway?" he asked.

"Your in the pokemon center at Goldenrod City, a young girl had her Blazekin carry you here while she took your Gardevoir and Celebi. You were in very bad shape, if you would have arrived a few minutes later, im not sure if you would have survived."

Suddenly remembering the pokemon, "Where are they?" he asked, a little scared.

"Who?" Nurse Joy asked out of confusion.

"Celebi and Gardiv..." he started but stoped as he felt a familiar presence brush up against his mind. It was pure joy and happiness, and not even a second later, Gardevoir and Celebi teleported right next to him. Gardevoir immediatly embraced him in a tight hug, but she was carful, not wanting to break any stiches. Celebi let out a cry of happiness and started to fly around his head.

Nurse Joy smiled at the sight of the small faimily reunited. It reminded her of a certin trainer that she had seen a long time ago. '_He seems familiar for some reason, but I just can't put my finger on it, oh well,' _she thought as the distant image of Ash and Pikachu flashed across her mind. "You should probly get some rest, its four o'clock in the morning the more sleep you get, the less chance of tearing a stich again, so good night!" Nurse Joy said as she left.

"Ok?" the boy said a little confused, but he let it go. He was comfertable in Gardivoir's loving embrace and with Celebi sleeping on his head, and soon, the trio was fast asleep.

* * *

Back in Sinnoh, Ash was the first person to wake up, which meant that the early bird responsibilities were his. He quietly got out of his bed so as not to wake Pikachu or the others, got dressed and turned to leave the room. But just as he was about to open the room door, a small weight pressed down on his shoulders. He turned to see Pikachu looking at him with irritated, yet sleepy eyes.

"Sorry buddy, I didn't want to wake you, its the big gym battle today, and I thought you should get as much rest as you could," Ash said.

"Pika pi." Pikachu said with a smile. Ash pet Pikachu right behind the ears and watched as he cooed with delight. The two quietly left the room and went to the lobby to get the other pokemon, Ash then went down to the cafeteria and fed them. It wasn't long before Brock and Dawn joined Ash for breakfast, and they soon started up a conversation.

"So Ash, what did May say last night?" Dawn asked while poking fun at him by putting her hands together and tried to strike a cute pose to embarass him.

"Um, nothing important, we just talked about each others day, thats all," Ash said deffensivly.

"Really? So whats new with May?" Brock asked, he was curious as to how his old friend was doing all by herself. So Ash started to tell them what May told him. and when her was done he noticed their faces, he wasn't surprised.

"Oh my gosh! she found some poor dying boy in the forest, thats odd," Dawn said with shock on her face.

"Hm, a pillar of green light, thats just as equally odd, do you suppose the two are related?" Brock asked.

"I don't know," Ash answered.

"So tell me Ash, how was it that when you were sleeping like a baby last night you were smiling, if I knew the love of my life just had a day like that, well, I would be worried sick!" dawn said.

"Hm?" Brock said not pauing attention until he heard the phrase "Love of my life." Ash stuttered for a moment trying to come up with a good lie.

'_If I told them that May blew me a kiss, I'd never hear the end of it, wait! I know,' "_I guess I was happy because May finally snapped at Drew, the little creep had it coming to him for a long time," Ash replied to Dawn's question.

"You know Ash, your a terrible liar, but if you don't wanna tell, thats fine by me," Dawn said as Ash looked at the ground in shame. "So when am I going to meet your new girl friend?" Dawn asked. A large blush appeared on Ash's face.

"She isn't my girl friend!" Ash replied trying to shake the blush off. '_Yet,' _Ash thought to himself. Dawn looked at him as if she could read his mind.

"So, are you afraid to tell her how you feel?" Brock asked.

"Um, well, uh, I- I don't know," Ash tried to answer with a straight face. Brock looked at him with sympathy, but Dawn sesed the oppertunaty.

"So they great pokemon master to be, Ash Ketchum, is afraid to talk to a girl about his feelings?" Dawn mocked him. Pikachu's sweat dropped as Ash took the bait.

"I am not afraid!" ash yelled. '_Yes I am'_ Ash thought to himself.

"Then prove it! By the end of the day, you have to tell May exactly how you feel," Dawn dared him.

"Hey isn't your gym battle today Ash?" Brock asked, trying to change the subject.

"Oh yeah! I almost forgot." Ash said while stratching the back of his head.

"Thats because you were too busy thinking about May," Dawn said while stressing May's name. This made Ash blush and made him angry at the same time. Before Ash was about to strike at Dawn, Brock pulled her away.

"You might wanna consider letting up on Ash, afterall, he's going through a hard time," Brock whispered in Dawn's ear as he draged her away. "Don't worry about us Ash, good luck at your gym battle!" Brock said to Ash. Ash nodded and left the pokemon center with Pikachu.

"What do you mean he's going through a hard time?" a puzzled Dawn asked Brock.

"Well, think about it, say, Gary was going to hoenn and you knew that some on who had similar feelings for him as you do was going to be there too, and, you would be miles away worring about them day after day, moment after moment," Brock tried to explain to the girl who blushed when she heard Gary's name. Dawn thought for a moment.

"I can understand where your coming from, but, I think its just so much fun!" Dawn said with a wink. Brock's sweat dropped and he sighed. "Hey! while we're out, why don't we go shopping!" Dawn suggested.

"First things first, lets get you registered for that contest, and then we get supplies first," Brock said.

"Deal!" Dawn said happily. The two left for the contest hall which wasn't hard to find sense it was a large building whith a pokeball roof. The inside of the room was crowded with lots of people registering and talking. "Do you think there are any spots left?" Dawn asked worriedly.

By the time they got to the counter, almost all of the spots were filled. "Theres still one spot left!" the receptionist said to Dawn. Dawn smiled and happily signed up. "The contest is in two days, so you better work hard!"

"Right!" Dawn said. The two walked out of the contest hall and made for the market. Upon arriving, Brock went to the pokemart and quickly got some supplies, afterwards, Dawn steered him into the mall where she began shopping.

_'Why me?'_ Brock asked himself. '_Ash owes me!'_

* * *

Ash stood outside the Oreburgh Gym with Pikachu on his shoulder. They were both staring at the gym with confidence in their eyes. All they could think about was getting their first sinnoh badge. The two entered the gym and were surprised to see it looked like a battle field inside of a mine shaft.

"Ah! Ash, I was wondering when you would arrive, and now that you are here, let us begin our battle," Roark said. Ash nodded and they two each went to an opposite side of the field. "The rules of my gym are simple. This will be a one on one battle, with no substitutions. One of my students will be the referee for this match." He said gesturing to the reff on ther side lines. "Go Cranidos!" the gym leader said tossing a pokeball onto the field. A small dinosaur like pokemon appeared from the ball.

"Ash pulled out his pokedex, "Cranidos, the head smash pokemon, Cranidos lived in jungles around 100 million years ago, its head is as hard as iron."

"Alright, you ready Pikachu?" Ash asked the electric rodent on his shoulder.

"Pikachu!" Pikachu replied with a nodd. It jumped off Ash's shoulder and landed on the field in front of Ash, with sparks eminating from the two pouched on its cheecks.

"I belive you may have the first move Ash," Roark said.

"Your mistake," Ash said with a grin. "Pikachu! iron tail!" Pikachu ran up to Cranidos and jumped into the air. Its tail began to glow white. Pikachu's attack hit Cranidos right on the head, but it didn't seem to do much damage.

"Cranidos! headbutt!" Roark commanded. Cranidos jumped up and hit Pikachu with its headbutt. Pikachu flew to the ground, but quickly got back up.

"Pikachu! are you ok?" Ash asked his partner. Pikachu nodded at its trainer saying it was ready to keep going. "Alright, give them a taste of your thunderbolt!" Pikachu let loose a powerful bolt of electricity at the Cranidos who seemed to endure that as well. '_Grr, how can we take this thing down? Wait! what if Pikachu can seperate it from the ground? Yeah! that could work,'_ Ash thought as he remembered somthing that Brock said in hoenn about how rock and ground pokemon can channel the force of attacks into the ground. "Pikachu! use quick attack to launch it into the air!" Ash ordered. Pikachu sped off towards the rock type.

"Not so fast! Cranidos, use dig to dodge it!" Cranidos disapeared as it quickly dug a hole in the gym floor. Pikachu stoped and started to look around nervously.

"Don't worry Pikachu, as soon as it reapears hit it with quick attack." Pikachu nodded and waited. As soon as Cranidos reapeared out of the ground behind Pikachu, it was hit by Pikachu's quick attack, which sent it into the air. "Now Pikachu hit it with iron tail!" Pikachu jumped up after cranidos and charged its tail,

"Cranidos, stop it!" Roark yelled. Cranidos caught Pikachu's tail before it hit him, only to be surprised by the grin on Pikachu's face.

"Now Pikachu! Thunder!" Ash commanded, and as he said that Pikachu created an emmence bolt of electrical energy and channeled it from the pouches on its cheecks, to the tail, and right and Cranidos. The transfew of energy to Cranidos created an explosion. Cranidos came flying out of the smoke and crashed into the wall. There it fell to the ground with a dazed look in its eyes.

"Cranidos! No!" Roark shouted.

"Cranidos is unable to battle, the winner of this match is Ash and Pikachu from Pallet town," the referee said raising his left arm towards Ash. Roark returned Cranidos to its pokeball.

"Alright! Way to go pikachu!" Ash said while striking a victory pose. He walked over to Roark and shook his hand.

"That was a great battle Ash, someday, I want to have a rematch with you some day. Oh, and before I forget, here, you've earned this Coal badge," Roark said while handing Ash the Coal badge.

"Thanks Roark, look Pikachu! we got our first sinnoh badge!" Ash said while striking a victory pose with the badge in his hand. Pikachu was on his shoulder giving a peae sign.

* * *

May was just waking up when she noticed Eevee was right up in her face. "Eevee, vee, eevee," the pokemon said to her trainer, then it licked her face when she noticed May was awake.

"Good morning to you to Eevee," May said while yawning. She looked over at the clock on the bed side table, "Eevee! its too early, go back to sleep!" May said as she rolled over trying to go back to sleep. Eevee looked disapointed and yanked May's bandana off of her head and ran out of the room and down the hall with it. "Uh! Eevee! Come back here!" May grunted as she got up. She quickly got dressed and follwed in persuit of Eevee.

As May exited her room she saw Eevee was waiting for her at the end of the hall with her green bandana in her mouth. "Eevee, give that back," May said in a soft voice with a smile. Eevee shook her ran and ran down the stairs. '_Eevee! whats gotten in to you?'_ may thought to herself as she rolled her eyes. May followed Eevee down the stairs, into the lobby, and then into the cafeteria.

"Wow! You guys! This is amazing!" May said completly surprised. The cafeteria was covered in party favors and balloons. In the center of the room stood her pokemon, Blazekin was holding a cake, Ralts was standing next to Blazekin, Munchlax was on the other side of Blazekin watching the cake which was held out of his reach, and Squirtle was next to Munchlax. Eevee ran up and jumped onto May's shoulder, offering her back her bandana. May took it and tied it on her hair. "Thanks you guys, I completly forgot about my birthday," May said with a smile. May took a look at the cake, obviously Nurse Joy baked for her pokemon, but that didn't matter to her.

May made a wish and blew out the fourteen candles on the cake. '_I wish Ash would care about me, the same way I do about him' _May wished. All fourteen candles went out, her pokemon cheered, and they began to cut the cake. May got the first peice, it was her birthday after all, Munchlax got the second,Bblazekin got the third, Squirtle got the fourth, Eevee got the fifth, and ralts got the sixth peice. They all began to eat their peices and had a goog time. Munchlax downed his peice with one bite, and bergan looking around for another, but seeing as how the cake was divided into six peices, he couldn't find another. Balzekin was enjoying his peice. Eevee and Ralts were taking small bites out of their peices. When they were done Eevee came up to may and licked the frosting off of her nose.

"Eevee! Stop it, that tickles!" May said while laughing. May began to play with some of her pokemon, and they were all having a blast until the fun was interupted by an unexpected visitor. "Drew, what do you want now?"

"I just wanted to wish you happy birthday, thats all," the green haired coordinator replied. He handed May a bouque of flowers. After a disturbing silence may was starting to feel uneasy. "I was also wondering..." Drew started, before someone else arrived.

"Hey, do either of you know when the kitchen will open up? We're starving" the boy said as he stratched the back of his head, Drew's sweat dropped. Upon seeing the boy awake, May's uneasiness quickly turned into happiness. Not just because he made Drew uncomfertable, but also because she was worried about his well being.

'_He's ok!'_ she thought to herself. The boy's Gardevoir walked up to his side with Celebi floating next to her. The trio walked into the cafeteria completly oblivious to the glares they were reciving from Drew. "Its nice to see your up and about, considering the last time I saw you," May said. The boy's sweat dropped, and Drew looked completly confused. It was then that Drew noticed all the bandages covered up by the hospitol cloths.

"Wow, did you get hit by a car or somthing?" Drew asked with a puzzeled expression on his face. May was also wondering how he got so beat up.

"Yeah, what happened?" She asked.

"Well, first of all, I have a name, and it's Alex. Second, now is neither the time or the place to tell you, plus, its none of your buisness," Alex said facing Drew. Drew grew extremly irritated and was about to snap, until he regained his posture and walked away.

"Whatever, I have more important things to worry about, and so do you May," Drew said as he turned to leave.

"Ah! He's right! the contest is in two days!" May yelled in shock. "Im not even close to being ready!" May fell to the ground and started panicing.

"If its any help, I can help you train for your contest!" Alex offered.

"Really, you'd help me?"

"Of course, its the least I can do for you saving me and my pokemon."

"Alright!" May shouted. "But first im gunna get some more rest, a certin Eevee woke me up too early this morning, and then i'll have to freshen up," May said.

"Thats ok, I have somthing else to take care of first," Alex said with a smile. With that, the two departed to their seperate rooms. Alex went back to the emergency room he was in to switch back into his cloths, however, when he got there, he saw that there was a large slice straight through his jacket. He decided that he better check in with his comrades first. When he pulled out his poketch, he was barely able to get a signal through, it was only after he rewired it and gave it an over charge using Gardevoir and Celebi's psychic abilities to make a connection.

"Sir! You don't know how thrilled we are to hear your voice again! Where are you anyway? We're at the spot where your beacon is currently indicating, but your not here," a confused voice said.

"That's because I am there, just not at that time," Alex replied.

"Care to explain sir?"

"Celebi made a time jump, Im not exactly sure of how far back, but it's deffinatly before the war began," Alex explained.

"Really? thats facinating!"

"Listin, you said that my beacon is still working?"

"Thats right sir,"

"Im gunna follow up on a hunch I got on Cipher's next attack, but im gunna need a signal in case I run into too much trouble, so im going to send Celebi over to you guys and switch off my beacon, as soon as I switch it back on, send reinforcements immediatly," Alex said.

"I got understand sir,"

"Good im gunna send Celebi back now." Alex turned to Celebi, "I need you to go back Celebi, if I run into any trouble you can come back and get me ok?" Celebi nodded and soon faded away.

"Alright sir, Celebi just arrived,"

"Good, now I have to go,"

"Understood," the voice finished. Alex ended the transmission and switched off his tracking beacon.

"_Are you sure about this? It's rather risky you know," G_ardevoir said with her arms folder across her chest. She was leaning up against the door using her psychic abilities to sense if anyone was coming.

"_I know its risky, but desperate times call for desperate measures, besides, if Cipher eliminates the targets that I expect them to be after, we're all finished. Besides, you know know how badly i've wanted to meet my parents, and see what they were like before Chiper struck"_ Alex said while opening the locket he always wore. The inside of the locket revealed a picture of him as a baby along with his parents.

"_Yes, I know, but just make sure your careful, your all I have left you know, I couldn't bare to lose you," _She said getting off of the door and embraced Alex in a loving hug. Some tears were starting to build up in her eyes.

"_I know, and I love you too, you and I, we're all thats left of our family, and that is why we have to stay and do this, If we fail, more families will be torn apart, hundreds of thousands will die, and the world would fall into chaos, but, if we can stop Cipher now, then maybe the future will be a brighter place for all of us,"_ Alex said returning the hug. He then turned to the pile of torn cloths.

"_But what am I going to do about this? These cloths are completly ruined, and there is no way that I am going to travel in a hospitol outfit," _Alex complained. Gardevoir couldn't help but laugh at him. "_Its not funny!"_

"_No, it's acually rather cute," G_ardevoir said, still giggiling. "_You sound just like your mother, or at least when it came to how she looked." _Alex looked at the ground in shame. "B_ut you have the attatude of your father, no doubt there,"_ Gardevoir said with a sigh. Alex shot here an irritated glace, which caused her to laugh again. Alex quickly left the room mumbling under his breath.

* * *

"Drew is so clueless, I blow up in his face and he still cant get it into his stupid thick skull!" May said to her pokemon.

"Eevee vee eve," Eevee said.

"Ral ralts alts ralts," Ralts added.

"True, but he still makes me so mad and uncomfertable. If it wasn't for Alex showing up when he did, Drew probably would have ended up in that emergency room," May said with a giggle as the thought ran through her mind. '_But somthing about him seems so familiar, oh well,'_ Well you guys, I'm gunna take a nap, so wake me up in an hour or two," May said with a yawn. She layed down and quickly fell asleep with her pokemon.

* * *

'_Who dose that jerk think he is? Talking to me like that, and ruining my time with May, he has some nerve!_' Drew thought to himself. '_Maybe if I was able to show him up, I could win May's heart over, yeah! that will totally work, and I am more than willing to bet that he only has that Gardevoir and that Celebi, so If I was to use Absol and Flygon, I should be able to wipe the floor with him without breaking a sweat. I'll challenge him later today, when everyone can see!'_ drew thought to himself. He found the thought of beating Alex and winning May's heart at the same time, a rather amusing thought.

Drew began to walk out of town and into the woods to train.

* * *

"Wow Ash, you won your first badge already?" an amzed Dawn asked. The group was at a resturant in Oreburgh City discussing their mornings

"Yup and I owe it all to Pikachu here," Ash answered, gesturing a hand to pikachu.

"Pikapi," Pikachu said, while straching the back of his head.

"So are you gunna tell May?" Brock asked.

"Nah, not right now, it's her birthday, she's probably sleeping right now.

"Its May's birthday?" Brock asked.

"Yup, and i've known for two weeks now!" Ash said proudly.

"Ash your such a bad liar," Dawn said.

"I'm not lying!" Ash yelled across the table. Pikachu just shook his head, he knew his trainer was right, but he kept falling into dawn's traps.

"Holy cow Ash, calm down," Brock said, trying to restore peace at the table. Ash shifted his gaze from the young coordinator and pulled the menu in front of his face so he wouldn't look at Dawn.

"So what did you get her?" she asked.

"Acually, I didn't get here anything yet, I don't know what she wants." Ash replied.

"What!" both Dawn and Brock yelled at him.

"Ash, whats wrong with you? Thats it, as soon as we're done eating, im gunna take you shopping so you can get her a good gift!" Dawn said eyeing the young trainer.

"Why do I have a feeling my wallet is going to get alot lighter?" Ash mumbled under his breath. Brock however, heard him say this and crept his head over to Ash's ear.

"You should fel glad, I already had to carry all her bags from the mall by myself, you have no room to complain, besides this is for May!" brock whispered into his ear. Ash blushed at the thought of giving May a gift that she really liked.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

**There you go, that's chapter three, I hope that clears up some of the confusion you may have had, but it only gets better, in the next chapter Ash goes shopping for May's present while Alex and Drew battle. **


	4. Drew's Humiliation

**The Dark Reign of Cipher**

**Chapter 4**

Still in her room at the pokemon center, May was just waking up from her nap. She looked over at the clock next to her bed and saw that it was almost noon. With a sigh she got up and readied herself for the day. She rubbed her eyes as she petted the still snozing Eevee next to her pillow. She looked over and saw Blazekin and Ralts talking over by the desk in the room. '_Well, those two are hitting it off pretty good,'_ May thought to herself. She looked at Munchlax, who was sleeping, and Squirtle, who was trying to build a pyramid out of cards. She went into the bathroom and took a shower. When she go out she got dressed and was about to leave.

"Ok you guys, If you're not coming with me then behave, Blazekin, you're in charge," May said to her pokemon. Blazekin responded with a nodd. "Im going to go and get some contest practice." Ralts hopped onto May's shoulder while Eevee woke up and walked beside her trainer. "You know, that Alex kid looks alot like Ash, don't you think?" May asked her pokemon.

"Eevee," Eevee replied with a nodd. Ralts had a confused look on her face. "Vee vee eevee eev," Eevee said to Ralts, who nodded in understanding.

"Well, lets get the show on the road!" May said, excited to get started.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"_Oh im so going to savor this moment!"_ Gardevoir said with a giggle. She looked at her trainer who looked very irritated at the thought of having nonthing to wear.

"Oh just laugh it up why don't you!" Alex said as he shot the Gardevoir an evil glance. "I guess I could just throw that torn jacket over these, but then, that would draw too much attention. It would look like I was mauled by an Ursaring," he said with a sigh.

"_You could just ask May to get some clothes for you, thats always an option,"_

_"Ha! No thanks! I don't want to end up traveling around Johto in pink."_ Gardevoir was angered by that sterotypical remark and a vain appeared on her head as she balled up one of her hands into a fist and lightly hit him upside the head. Before Alex could even asked why she did that a light knock came from outside of the room.

"Um hello?" May's voice said fom the other side. Alex started to walk towards the door.

"_Speak of the houndoom,"_ Gardevoir said to her trainer in an almost mockingly mannor. Alex just had enough time to cast her another dirty look before he opened the door to see May with her Eevee and Ralts.

May took one look at the boy, and the pile of ruined clothes. "You need new clothes, don't you?" may asked him.

"Yes, do you know where I could go and shop for some?" He asked. May's eyes lit up at the sound of the magical word *shopping*.

"Yeah, acually I do, there is a department store just a couple of blocks from here, In fact we can go together!" May said excitedly. '_This way I can find out more about him, afterall, nothing tells you more about a person by how they live, including what they wear.'_ May thought to herself. Alex regretfully put on the torn jacket, which even though it was still together, there were so many tairs and cuts through the fabric that it wasn't even worthy of being called clothing. He put on the rest of his clothes while May waited outside his room for him. When she was outside of the room she set the pokemon on the ground. "Sorry guys, training will have to wait, but you can rest in your pokeballs," she said as she returned them.

Eventually Alex and Gardevoir exited the room and joined May. Together they made their way to the lobby where Alex picked up his pokemon from Nurse Joy. "_When did I drop them off again?" _he asked Gardevoir with a puzzeled look on his face, which May didn't seem to notice.

_Well when you were brought here, I assume Nurse Joy took them,'_ Gardevoir replied. Alex's party did have average pokeballs, in fact, only twos were average pokeballs, the rest consisted of two timerballs and one masterball. Alex carried only five pokemon in his party. He checked his pockets, his spare pokeballs were still there as well as his wallet. Alex sighed with relief. He put his pokemon on his belt, well, except for Gardevoir.

The three of them started to make their way towards the department store, and as Alex expected, his torn cloths kept drawing to much attention and he began to get irritated. May, whose was solely thinking about shopping didn't seem to notice. Alex was just about to scream with frustration as Gardevoir began to wrap her mind around his to try and comfert him.

"_This is insane! These people act like they've never seen some one with torn cloths before!" _Alex said.

"_True, but you must not forget, we are in the middle of a large city, there is no war, and kids don't usually travel with cloths that look like they've gone through a bledder," _Gardevoir replied. Alex let out a discontent sigh, which got May's attention. She turned around to see Alex staring off into space with his hands resting on the back of his heads, and Gardevoir looking at him with a playful face.

"Is everything ok?" May asked.

"Yeah, once you get passed the hundreds of "What happened to you?" looks," Alex replied with a hint of irritance in his voice.

"Well don't worry, the department store is just over there!" May said with a large smile as she pointed to the large mall like building. Alex looked at the large building as did Gardevoir, but they weren't surprised at the buildings size.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Ok Ash, time to go birthday shopping!" Dawn said with a small smile.

"Oh joy,"Ash said with a sigh. Dawn heard him, but decided to ignoe it. She took Ash's hand and rushed off to the mall with him. Pikachu was holding onto Ash's shoulder for dear life as they truged through the crowds of Oreburgh City. When they arrived at the mall, Dawn was already thinking about how Ash would present his gift to his beloved, yet alone what he would get her.

The two wandered all over the mall, Dawn pointing out stores that she thought had a good gift, but every single time Ash shook his head and they moved on. Until they came upon a small store, Ash looked at it and then headed in with Pikachu still on his shoulder.

"Ash, you do realise that this is a jewelery store, right?" Dawn asked the trainer. Ash nodded and began to look around. He went up and down the showcase looking at all the peices of jewelery inside. Dawn started to look around as well. "Oh, Ash look at these!" Dawn said excitedly. Ash walked over and saw a pair of sapphire earings.

"No, I don't think so," Ash said as he shook his head. He walked off still looking at the display cases while Dawn look disapointed.

'_Well, I thought they looked nice,'_ Dawn thought to herself. Dawn noticed Ash stop and stare at a particular item in the case. She walked over and followed Ash's eyes. "Wow, that's beautiful!" She said with a sparkle in her eyes. The two friends stood there staring at a beautiful pendant. The pendant consisted of a circular diamond base with gold trimming. It could open up to fit two small pictures on the inside, and it consisted of a gold chain. "How much dose it cost?" Dawn looked at the price under it. The price for such a beautiful pendant would surly have to be enormous. "Thirty-two thousand dallors! Holy cow! Ash, can you afford that?"

"Well Dawn, first off, it's only three-thousand two hundred dallors, and second, I have more than enough," Ash replied pulling out his wallet. Dawn looked at him with amazment.

"Ash, I never knew you were loaded," Dawn said eyeing him with curiosity.

"Before I joined you guys for lunch I stopped by the bank and emptied my account."

"But that still dosen't explain how you got so much money."

"Well, after competing in the Pokemon League, trainers are paid a large amount of money, depending on finishing position, as a reward for getting so far and over coming all the challenges that it takes to be a pokemon trainer. To answer your question, i've been saving up all my earnings for somthing special, and I think this is that special thing," Ash said making his way to the main counter.

"Good day sir and madam, how may I help you today?" The owner asked.

"I would like to make a purchase please," Ash replied.

"Very well, and what treasure would you like to purchase?"

"This one!" Ash said pointing to the pendant.

"Ah! A fine choice, this particular pendant is a work of art, it is the only one of its kind! It is said to have been made by Dialga it's self."

"If it was supposed to have been made by Dialga, why are you selling it?" Dawn asked eyeing him with a skeptic look.

"Because I belive that such gifts as these are meant for certin people to find them, to tell you the truth, you are the first person out of every single person to spot that particular pendant," the shop keeper said.

"So how did you get that pendant?" Ash asked without taking his eye's off of the pendant.

"It has been passed down through my family, you see my family has been very, well, methological, they belived that one day the true owner of the pendant would return, so I figured I would make it easier for that person and put it up for sale!" the kepper said as he finished it with a laugh. Ash's, Dawn's and even Pikachu's sweat dropped at the man's explanation.

"Well, i'll take it!" Ash said with a grin.

"And whose it for? Yourself? Or is it for a special someone?" he asked grinning widly.

"Its um, well, for a certin someone," Ash mumbled quietly while playing with his fingers. The Store keeper could barly hear him, but when he did he let lose a bellow of laughter that made Ash blush a deep shade of red. Pikachu simply patted Ash on the top of his head. Belive it or not, Pikachu was proud of Ash.

"Well, in that case! I guess I can wave the price for you, especially since im a large fan of yours Ash Ketchum," the man said staring him in the eyes.

"M-my fan? I have fans?" Ash asked.

"Oh yes, you have lots of them, even here in Sinnoh, we're all waiting to see you compete in the Sinnoh League!" he replied. The shop keeper went got a small box put the pendant in the box and wrapped it up. "Here you go my lad!" he said as he handed the present to Ash.

"Thank you!" Ash said with a large smile, "how could I ever repay you?"

"You can repay me by winnin the Sinnoh League," the shop keeper said with a grin. Ash nodded and left with pikachu and Dawn, with May's present firmly in his hands. They started to make their way back to the pokemon center where Brock was waiting for them.

"I can't wait to see the look on her face when she opens it!" Ash said with a grin. "I can almost see it now!" Ash began to imagine May opening the box to see the beautiful pendant, and hugging him, the thought brought a large blush to Ash's face."Yeah..." Both Pikachu's and Dawn's sweat dropped as the saw the trainer blush.

"I don't even want to know what you were thinking about," Dawn said with a sigh.

"Pi-ka," Pikachu agreed. Eventually they arrived at the pokemon center and found Brock.

"Welcome back you guys, did you find May a good gift?" Brock asked the trio.

"We sure did! How come no one ever told me that Ash was loaded with money?" Dawn replied with her hands on her waist.

"Ash? You're rich?" Brock asked looking at Ash, whose sweat dropped.

"Well, Yeah, kinda. After all my leauge matches, i've never spent much of my earnings, i've been saving up for important stuff," Ash replied defensivly.

"I guess that makes sense, anyway, what did you get?" Ash grinned at his friend's question.

"I got her a pendant..." Ash started. but Dawn cut him off.

"It was made by Dialga and its made of diamonds with gold trimming!" Dawn squealled with excitement. Brock simply looked at her with skeptism.

"Is that true Ash?" Brock asked. Ash carefully untied the box and opened it to reveal the pendant. Brock pulled out a magnifying glass and examined it. "Yup, thats real diamonds and real gold, but I wonder how it could have been carved so carefully, its as if the gold and the diamond were cut frm the same stone. Maybe Dialga really did make this," Brock said handing it back to Ash, who put it back in the box and re-wraped it.

"Brock, why do you have a magnifying glass in your bag?" Ash asked.

"Im a breeder Ash, I gatta make sure that pokemon are at there 100% don't I? So how did you afford that?"

"Makes sense," Ash said, convinced by Brock's explanation. Ash told them what happened sense he and Dawn left and how they found the pendant.

"Thats interesting," Brock replied rubbing his chin. "But how are you going to get that to May?" Ash was stumped, his confident face was replaced by a confused one.

"You know, i didn't acually think about that.."

"Ash!" both Dawn and Brock yelled, irritated with the trainers iggnorance.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Alex Just entered the men's clothes department at the Goldenrod City Department Store or GCDS for short. "This place is huge," he said to his faithful Gardevoir. They began to walk through the isles looking at clothes. The clothing store was completly massive, and it had every single thing a trainer could need when it came to clothing. Alex already picked out a backpack, and some basic clothing like shoes and socks and such. He also had two t-shirts thrown in, a white one and a light emerald green one. ironically, they both matched his gardevoir. He was currently looking for some cloths to throw over his t-shirts. somthing that didn't restrict his movement too much, but still offered some protection from the enviornment.

"_How about this?"_ Gardevoir asked using her psychic powers to produce an outfil out of the cloths on the racks. It formed a thin blue jacket with a black t-shirt under neath and a red and white hat with a green "c" on it.

"_I don't think thats really me..."_ Alex said while raiseing an eyebrow to the outfit. Gardevoir shrugged and replaced the clothes she moved. "_Here we go, this will work nicely," _he said as he picked up a pair of baggy jeans.

"_Oh, and how about this?" _gardevoir asked holding out a blue and black hoodie.

"_That works,"_ alex said as he took it. _"Thank you,"_ he said to her. Gardevoir smiled and continued to make their way to the counter to pay for the new clothes. After he paid for his new clothes, Alex went to the changing room and changed into his new clothes which fit like a charm. when he walked out, May just caught up with him and Gardevoir and she was surprised with what she saw.

'_He looks exactly like Ash did last time I saw him, all thats different is his eyes and hair color, and of course, no hat. I wonder their related...'_ May thought to herself. True enough, Alex's new clothes were just like Ash's Hoenn clothes except that he wasn't wearing a hat. Alex took all of his belongings out of his pockets and put them in his new backpack. "Well, while we're here we may as well head next door to the "Trainer's Equipment Emporyom,"" May suggested. Alex looked at Gardevoir who nodded, and then he turned back to May with a smile, indicating her to lead the way.

They left the clothing store and went to the equipment store where May was looking at coordinator's equipment while Alex went to go get provisions, a sleeping bag, a flashlight, ect. Gardevoir was just mindlessly wandering through the isles when she sensed and angery and irritated mind approching her trainer, she rushed to Alex's side. May noticed this and started to make her way over as well. When she got there, she was neither happy not irritated with what she saw, rather, she was surprised.

In front of her was Drew stomping his way over to Alex who was paying for his new equipment and placing it in his backpack after it was purchased. "Hey you! the kid with the attatude! Look at me when i'm talking to you!" Drew said to the trainer.

'_Oh great,'_ May thought sarcasticaly. '_This is going to be bad.'_

"Apparently your the only one with an attatude here pal," Alex simply replied. This caused Drew's anger to sky rocket. Even from several feet away, May could see Drew's bulging vains.

"_He's going to make a scene here..."_ Gardevoir said to Alex.

"_Yeah probably," _Alex replied.

"I think you owe me an appology!" Drew said, almost demanding. this caused Alex to turn around with a skeptical expression on his face.

"And what makes you think that, if you don't mind my asking?" Alex replied. Gardevoir carefully wove through his mind to try and figure out what Drew's motives were, she was careful not to make her presence known in his mind though.

"_He wants to battle you,"_ She informed her trainer.

"_Yeah, I know, and I know why, I just want to see how long it takes him to realise that May is right behind him," _Alex replied playfully.

"You ruined my perfect chance to ask may out, and give her a birthday kiss!" Drew said with anger in his voice. Alex winked, but not to Drew, and this puzzeled Drew until her heard a certin female coordinator clear her throat from behind him.

"Excuse me Drew, but why would I except to your date offer when i've turned you down every other time, and what makes you think that I would acually let you kiss me!?" May demanded an explation from Drew as she put her hands on her waist.

"Well...I.. u-um, you see..." Drew started, but May cut him off.

"Well?" she said, waiting for her explination. Drew's sweat dropped and he had a large nervous blush across his face.

Drew Growled and turned back to face Alex. "I challenge you to a battle! If your man enough, meet me in the central park in two hours!" Drew said as he stormed out of the Department store.

"_I told you so," _Gardevoir playfully said to her trainer.

"_I wonder if he noticed his shoes were untied?" _Alex said to Gardevoir. The two of them looked in Drew's direction and watched him trip and fall flat on his face.

"_I think he noticed now..."_ Gardevoir replied. They both started laughing. When May came over to take a look at what they were laughing at, she joined them in their laughing state.

"I hope you don't mind if I embarass him again at the park," Alex said to May, once the laughter died down.

"Not at all, I would love to see it," she replied.

"_So, you don't mind if Alex makes a fool out of him May?"_ Gardevoir asked May. May flinched at the telepathy. Alex seeing her laughed a little bit.

"Don't worry, you eventually get used to it," he reasured her. May gave him an akward look before letting out a small giggle.

"Don't worry about him, he can't seem to take a message, in fact, if you wasted him in front of everyone at the park, it might dent his ego a bit, so you would be doing the entire world a favor," May said. The three laughed, then May paid for her coordinator gear and they turned to leave. Just at that moment both May's and Alex's stomach growled. "Maybe we should stop for lunch," May said with an embarassed blush on her face while she scatched the back of her face.

The three of them found a nice little resturant in the food court and bagn looking at the menu. "_Well, seeing as how your as hungery as I am, what are you gonna get?" _Alex asked Gardevoir. She looked at him and then was lost in thought.

"_Acually, i'm not really that hung..."_ She started before she was cut off by her growling stomach, which caused her to blush. Alex gave her the "I told you so look," which made her even more embarassed until she looked away, with her arms crossed over her chest. She gave him a "hmf" noice, which made Alex laugh, and eventually Gardevoir followed suit. May looked completly perplexed.

"Oh, sorry," Alex said as he waved a hand to May. "Gardevoir and I share a bond thats so strong, we can literally switch bodies." May looked dumbfounded. "Let me explain, over the years, well, acually, my whole life, i've been with Gardevoir and eventually we were able to mold our minds together, which caused us to be able to feel the other's emotions, hear their thoughts, experience the other's pain, and even share bodies, although, our spirits don't exactly mingle that well," Alex tried to explain.

"Share bodies?" May asked while she was still confused. Alex sighed, and Gardevoir tried to explain it better.

_"If one of us wanted to, we could pull the other's spirit into our body. For example, say we were seperated, and I wanted to make sure he was alright, I could simpily send a portion of my spirit into his body through our bond, thus allowing us to share his body and senses, and vice versa. Do you understand?"_ Gardevoir said.

"Kinda, but wouldn't that eventually get annoying?" May asked.

"Well, we can block the other out somtimes, if we really wanted to, but then, why would we ever want to do that?" Alex explained.

"I see, so what was with that little scene right there?"

"Oh, she just tried to hide her hunger, thats all," Alex said with a hint of laughter in his voice.

"Oh," May finished. The waitress came over to take their orders.

"What can I get you today?" she asked.

"I'll have a bowl of ramen please, with a side of egg roles please, and a Dr. Pepper," May ordered.

"Ok, and you sir?" the waitress asked Alex.

"_Do you know what you want?"_ he asked his partner.

"_Um, I guess I'll have the same thing she had, except with water of course," _Gardevoir replied.

"I'll have a hamburger with extra fries and some limonade, and Gardevoir would like a bowl of ramen, with a side of egg roles, and some water please," Alex told the waitress.

"Ok, your order will be up shortly," She said as she turned and left. Shortly afterward, the waitress returned with their drinks. The trio continued to sit there while enjoying an ever so un-enjoyable akward silence.

"So," May started to try and start up a conversation. "Do you know a boy named Ash Ketchum?"

At the sound of that name, Alex almost spit his lemonade across the table, but he rushed it down his thoat, with a nervous look on his face. "Yeah, of course do! Who dosen't?" Alex said as he gave off a nervous laugh. he got the "you better watch it" look from Gardevoir. "Why do you ask?"

"Its just that you look so much like him, and that you behave so much like him, I was just wondering If you two were related in some way." May said with idle curiosity. If it wasn't for her being lost in her thoughts, she would have seen Alex sweat ferociously at the question. '_What a stupid question! Now he probably thinks your some obbsessed fangirl or somthing... or worse, that your insane.'_

_"What should I say? Should I say the truth? Or should I lie?" _he quickly asked Gardevoir.

_She looked just as perplexed as Alex did at the question, but she shook it off faster than he did. "I don't know, but what ever you decide, decide fast."_

"Um, no. We're not related," Alex said simpily. "But I get asked that all the time, so don't worry about it."

"Oh, ok," May replied. At that moment there food was brought out before them. The waitress turned to take the order of another table before she turned back around to see that Alex and May had both completly cleaned their plates, and that Gardevoir was finishing up hers.

"Will you be needing anything else today?" She asked the trio. They looked at each other and they shook their heads. " Very well, is this one one tab or multiple tabs?"

"Just one thank you," Alex said. Soon the waitress returned with the check, Alex quickly took it, paid it, and left a 40% tip for the waitress. Soon they left the resturant and headed for the park for the battle that was going to take place.

"You didn't have to pay for me you know," May said.

"Yeah, I know, but it is your birthday after all, and its the least I can do for you." Alex replied.

"Well, it was sweet, so thank you," May said with a smile. "Here we are, Central Park, with about ten minutes to spare." And as if on que, Drew showed up to their right.

"Well, well, well, look who acually showed up!" Drew said as he noticed Alex. "So are we going to battle or not!?"

"Oh certinly, just after you name the rules." Alex replied.

'_Im going to make him wish he never became a trainer! I wonder if he would still have that dumb smirk on his face after I pumble his pokemon to the ground, Ah! I know,' "_This will be a three on three knockout battle, no substitutions, and the pokemon must stay the same until it faints!" Drew said, with an overly confident voice. '_He probably dosen't even have three pokemon.'_

"Fine by me, lets get this battle going!" Alex said as he readied a pokeball. "May, why don't you be the reff. for this match?" May nodded and took her place on the side in the middle.

"Let the knockout battle begin!" She yelled.

"Go Flygon!" Drew said as he threw a pokeball into the air, out of the ball came a green bug like dragon pokemon.

"A dragon type? Ok, I can match that! Go Dragonite!" Alex threw Dragonite's pokeball and out of it came the calm dragon pokemon.

'_A Dragonite!? who would have thought he'd had one of those? Hmp, I bet its weak,' _"Alright Flygon! Use dragon breath and bring that oaf down!" Flygon let loose a breathe of green fire from its mouth and aimed it straight at Dragonite, who just stood there. '_Its not even going to dodge! This is going to be too easy.' _

"_Don't over do it, ok?" _Gardevoir asked Alex.

"_Don't worry, I won't,"_ he replied. "Dragonite! Use dragon claw and cut straight through that attack!" Instantly, Dragonite's claws began to glow whilte and begun to cut through the dragon breath as Dragonite flew to his foe. "Once your in range use Iron Tail!" Dragonite's tail glowed white as he swung his tail at the startled Flygon. The impact sent Flygon crashing to the ground forming a small crater.

"Flygon! Fly up into the air, use your speed against it!" Flygon streached out its wings and took off, slow at first but it began to accelerate.

"Dragonite, use extreme speed to catch him." Dragonite nodded then seemed to disapear as it instantly caught Flygon. "Give it a taste of your dragon claw!" Dragonite released Flygon who was waiting for a command from it's trainer.

"Flygon, use dragon breath while it's close," Drew said while Dragonite was getting its command. Flygon fired a dragon breath right at Dragonite, but it was cut off ast Flygon was hit by dragon claw. Flygon crashed into the same crater that it formed just moments ago, but this time it was down for the count. when the dust cleared, it revealed a Flygon with a dazed look in its eye.

"Flygon is unable to battle, round one gose to Alex and Dragonite!" May shouted while raising the arm that was on Alex's side. By this time the battle had gained a large crowd as people were watching a professional coordinator get beat by some kid. Drew returned Flygon to its pokeball

"Beginner's luck! Alright! Go Absol!" Drew shouted throwing Absol's pokeball to the ground. The disaster pokemon faced its opponent, who was still up in the air. "Get that Dragonite with razor wind!" The sickle on the side of Absol's head glowed as Absol sent blast of ferocious wind at Dragonite, who easily dodged it.

"Alright, lets end this quick, use extreme speed!" Dragonite disappeared and then quickly reappeared as it bashed Absol in the side. Absol let out a cry of pain as it fell to its side, but it quickly recovered. "Use siesmic toss and finish it!" Dragonite took hold of Absol and flew up high, spun around in a circle and threw Absol back towards the ground. Drew could only watch in horror as Absol smashed into the ground, deepening the already deep crater.

Again, when the dust cleared, it revealed a fainted pokemon. Drew could only growl in frustration. '_How could this be happening? I was supposed to flatten this punk without a sweat, but here I am, down to my last pokemon, and I haven't even scratched the stupid Dragonite! This isn't working!'_

"Absol is unable to battle, round two gose to Alex and Dragonite!" May shouted raising the same hand again. The crowd grew bigger and now people were cheering Alex on.

'_He's even builfing up some fans! This can't be happening!'_ "Go Roselia!" Drew said as he threw Roselia's pokeball, out of the ball came a small rose pokemon. "Roselia, use solar beam!"

"Alright Dragonite, lets play their game, use hyper beam!" Dragonite began to charge a beam of energy, but roselia finished charging first and fired a yellow beam of light up in the air at the charging Dragonite, it hit on its mark and Dragonite's hyper beam exploded in its face causeing twice the damage. Dragonite fell to the ground with a large thud, a dazed look in its eyes.

"Dragonite Is unable to battle, the third round gose to Drew and Roselia! May shouted raising her other hand. The crowd was dumbstruck at what just happened.

'_Ha! I took that big oaf down, Whats he ot next? What ever it it, it'll meet the same fate!'_

'_I didn't expect that to happen, but either way you did great Dragonite, you deserve a nice long rest,'_ Alex thought to himself as he returned Dragonite to its pokeball. "I got to hand it to you Drew, not many people can bring him down like that, but this battle is still far from over!" '_Hm, who to send out next? Ah, I got it!'_

Reading Alex's thoughts, Gardevoir added, "_Be careful, she's a ball of energy."_

"_Yeah, I know, but she hasn't seen battle in a long time,"_ Alex replied. "Go!" Alex said as he tossed a timerball into the air.

Drew was to busy thinking over how to win May over after he won the battle that he didn't even notice that Alex sent out his next pokemon until he heard the crowd gasp in awe and say how adorable the next pokemon was. He looked up and was surprised to see what he saw. Across the feild from him was a small floating red and white pokemon with a blue triangle on its chest rub its head against Alex wanting to play.

May pulled out her pokedex, she had never seen this pokemon before. "Latias, the eon pokemon, Latias can fly as fast as a jet by pulling its arms close to its body, It is belived that Latias can take the shape of humans," her pokedex chimed.

"L-Latias?" Drew said in confusion. The Latias then noticed her surroundings and was looking around the crowd, who kept saying how cool or cute she was. '_How am I supposed to beat that?'_

"Hey Latias," Alex said to get her attention back. She was obviously playful. "Wanna finish up this battle Latias?" he asked the red eon dragon. She nodded and flew around him a couple of times before stopping in front of Roselia. "Ready when you are Drew!"

Drew growled, "Roselia! Use petal dance!" The small rose pokemon let loose a flury of petals at Latias.

"Latias! Luster purge!" Latias nodded as she was engulfed by a ball of light and dashed towards Roselia. The petal dance was harmlessly knocked aside as Latias continued its charge. When she made contact with Roselia, there was a large flash and Roselia came flying out and crashed into Drew leaving a dazed looked in both of their eyes. As the light faded Latias returned to her trainer's side where Alex started petting her. She cooed with delight as May declared Alex the winner. The crowed cheered and rushed in as they all wanted to get a closer look at Latias and her trainer. But before they got too close Gardevoir put up a psychic barriar which kept them far enough away.

"_We'll be waiting at the pokemon center, its safe to say that we won't be going anywhere if we stay here,"_ Gardevoir said to may. May nodded and watched as the two pokemon and their trainer teleported. The crowd quickly disperced at discontent seeing that the trainer and his pokemon were gone.

May got her stuff together and started to walk back to the pokemon center, she hated walking alone to she let Eevee out of her pokeball and talked to her on her way back. "I don't know Eevee, Alex may say he's not related to Ash, but they look similar, they have the same appitite, they both love pokemon, and they both have the same battle style. I think he just wants to keep his personal life secret. So i won't pester him about it, but I just know that Ash will want to meet him, if not to see him in person, than deffinatly to battle!" May said to the Eevee on her shoulder with a giggle.

"Vee ve eevee eev e vee," Eevee added.

"What do you mean he looks like Ash _and _me?" May asked the little fox pokemon, but it just laughed, and May let it go.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Do you think it will work Professor Birch?" Ash asked the professor on the other end of the phone. Ash was sitting in the pokemon center with a pokeball in one hand and the phone in the other.

"It should, but are you sure you want to? You do know what that pokemon symbolises right?" Professor Birch asked. The two have been talking for a while and Ash asked Professor Birch for a pokemon to give to May with his gift.

"Yes professor, im sure, in fact im more that sure!"

"Alright then just make sure you give that pokemon the present before you give it to May."

"I will professor, and thanks again!"

"Oh, don't mention it! And good luck Ash!"

"Thanks professor!" With that, the two hung up. Ash went to rejoin his friends in the lobby.

"So, did you figure out a way to get your gift to May?" Brock asked.

"Yup, sure did!" Ash said with a large smile across his face.

"Well, how are you going to do it?" Dawn asked.

"With this," Ash said as he opened the pokeball he was holding, a small pokemon materialised out of the ball.

"Oh my gosh! Ash! This is perfect! Its so romantic!" Dawn squealed looking at the pokemon that just emerged. Ash could only grin and blush.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

**Theres Chapter 4, chapter five contains some more shippiness, and some family history from Alex, including the story on how he got his pokemon.**


	5. Of Hearts and Diamond

**The Dark Reign of Cipher**

**Chapter 5**

"Hey, come on pal, im proud of you, it wasn't your fault, Roselia just got lucky!" Alex said to the sad Dragonite that was sitting in his room at the pokemon center. It simply looked at him with sadness in his face. Alex let his Dragonite out so that he could attend to its injuries.

"Drag dragonite," It said quietly.

"_You did great! Don't be so down on yourself," _Gardevoir said trying to cheer up the large dragon, while at the same time trying to restrain the overly energetic Latias so she could check for any injuries. "_So why exactly did you have to use Latias to finish that battle?" _Gardevoir asked Alex with a hint of irritance in her voice.

"_Because she hasn't been in a recreational battle in a long time. I thought she would have enjoyed it,"_ Alex replied, while cleanning Dragonite's wounds with some ointment that he made out of herbs he got from the store. When he finished he stepped back and watched Dragonite's cuts and scrapes fuse shut, making it look like nothing happened.

"_Oh sit still!" _Gardevoir exclaimed to the now startled Latias as she grabbed the eon pokemon and tried to hold it in place. "_See! You're hurt! Now if you can just stay still for a few seconds, I can fix that up!" _Gardevoir said, but Latias broke out of her grip and began to zip around the room at high speeds until she got dizzy and smashed her face into the wall, she had a dazed look in her eyes. Gardevoir simply rolled her eyes and sighed as she picked up the knocked out eon dragon and treated her cuts. Alex and Dragonite couldn't help but laugh. "_You were like this at one point in time you know!"_ She said to Alex.

"_Yeah maybe, but not any time soon,"_ he replied with a smirk. Garedevoir looked at him with an eyebrow raised before she rolled her eyes with a small smile. "I guess we may as well let her brother out," Alex said as he pulled out the other timerball from his belt. He opened the ball and another eon dragon appeared. Unlike his sister, this one was blue,and had a red triangle, his ears were more pointed than Latias's, and the tips of his wings were different. "Hello Latios, welcome to the past," Alex said to the pokemon.

"La?" It asked the others. Then noticed his sister looking knocked out, instantly he knew what just happened and sighed before going over to his sister and waking her up. At that moment a knock was heard on the door.

"Come in," Alex said to the other side. May came inside with Eevee on her shoulder. Whatever shock she had when she saw Latias was doubled when she saw Latios with the other. Seeing her confusion Alex spoke, "Yeah, during my journey, those two decided to tag along. Latios is Latias's older brother, and is alot less hyper active than his sister."

"How did you meet them?" May asked. Eevee jumped off of her shoulder and walked over to the two eon pokemon.

Eevee was completly oblivious to the conversation that their trainers were having, and was more focused on her own. "So how did you guys meet?" Eevee asked the eon dragons. Latias looked puzzeled not knowing Eevee meant how the two of them or their trainer met. Latios was lost in his memories.

"Who?" Latias asked.

"You two and your trainer," Eevee replied. Latias looked at her brother who was watching the trainers have the exact same discussion.

'_So he's skipping the personal parts, I guess we should do the same,'_ Latios thought to himself. "Well, it all started one day when he came to a small town called Altamar, that was where we lived. At first we regognised his..." Latios started, looking for a good word to use. "His scent was familiar to use because it was so similar to his father's so we imediatly recognised him."

Latias took after Latios's lead after realising that he was keeping some parts secret. "We introduced ourselves accordingly and we soon became good friends!" Latias said with a smile.

"Thats one way to put it, a more accurate way to put it would be that _you _introduced yourself and startled him," Latios said said to the now embarassed Latias. "But anyway, we showed him around town and we did become good friends. However, as everyone knows, good times don't last forever."

"A group of..." Latias started before noticeing a watchful glance from Gardevoir. Gardevoir was intently listining to both conversations trying to make sure that they don't tell too much. "... bad people came and tried to capture the two of us and use us for their evil purposes, but Alex came and saved us!" Latias said happily.

"How?" Eevee asked. She titled her head at the eon pokemon, still completly confused. Their answers didn't help much in easing the fox pokemon's curiosity. Latios took a moment to debate on how to answer the second question.

"Well, when the "bad people" came and took us, Alex followed them and when they caged us, broke us out, and spirited us out while battling for his life," Latios said.

"Battled for his life?" Eevee asked.

"Alot of people out there are willing to kill for their ambitions, but luckily, there are others out there that are will do anything to stop them!" Latias said. "Our trainer risked his life to save us, just like his father did before him." Eevee noticed that she wouldn't get anymore out of them on that subject, so she decided to change it.

"So what made you decide to go with him?" Eevee asked.

"Well, first of all, its not everyday that you meet the son of an old friend, and that both save your lives, we decided to go with him so we could become better friends!" Latias.

"And to pay back his father for saving our lives, we may not have been able to save his but at least we can save his son's if we ha.." Latios added before being cut off by Gardevoir's death glare. Latios began to nervously sweat and tried to change the subject. "So how did you and you're trainer meet?"

Eevee told the two eon pokemon about how when she hatched for May and how her life has been, she even told them about her crush for Pikachu and her trainer's crush for Ash.

"Aw! Thats so cute!" Latias exclaimed.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"What happened?" Drew asked himself as he recovered from his dazed state. Roselia was rubbing the top of its head, it was confused as to what happened. "All i remember was seeing a Latias and then boom," Drew said to the rose pokemon. '_That punk just got lucky! But where did he find that rare pokemon? Ok, maybe I did underestimate him, but that was completly unnessisary!'_ "Come on, lets get back to our hotel," he said as he got up and started to brush some of the dirt off of his cloths.

Drew was almost to the hotel when he heard a familiar voice. "Well well well, what do we have here? Could it be that Drew got rejected? Again?" a man with long purple hair said. The man was dressed in a Cacture outfit and looked at Drew with an "I told you so" face.

"Oh shut up Harley!" Drew said with an angery face. He was grinding his teeth at the Cacture trainer. "And maybe I was rejected, but at least I don't look like a freak!"

"Oh, somthing must have happened, your not yourself, did you get shown up?" Harley asked, just edging Drew on. Drew just looked away and started to walk into the hotel building. "I'll take that as a yes," Harley said as he followed Drew in. "You know, you seemed so confident when you decided to leave me behind in Violet City and tried to get May to join you.," He said as he caught up with Drew.

"Can it Harley!" was all Drew could say.

"Wow, did that boy crush your pride that..." Harley started.

"You saw!?" Drew asked with a yell.

"Yup, along with at least a hundred other people."

"I don't get it, he battles like Ash, he acts like Ash, he even looks like Ash!" Drew said in a frustrated manor. "And, to make things worse, he's closer to May than I am, and they've only known each other for a day!" he angerly stated.

"Is someone jealous?" Harley taunted him. Drew looked at the purple haired man with anger in his eyes and his vains bulging on his head. Drew clench his hands into fists, but he knew Harley was right. "Don't worry, I have a plan to get May away from that Ash-wanna-be and with you," he said with a smirk.

"Well, shoot!" Drew demanded.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Oh my gosh! Ash, where did you get this pokemon?" Dawn damanded to know as Ash returned the pokemon to its pokeball.

"I got it from Professor Birch," Ash said waving a hand at Dawn.

"That is totally the most romantic birthday present in the world! I wish my true love would do somthing like that for me!" Dawn said, with sparkles in her eyes. She squealed at the thought of Gary Oak giving her a gift as wonderful as the one that May was getting. "You have to give it to her _now_!" Dawn said in Ash's face.

"Easy Dawn, personally, I think it would be more romantic if Ash gave her the gift at night," Brock said. Ash's sweat dropped.

"Yeah, your probably right. Ok Ash, heres what you have to do..." Dawn started, but Ash cut her off.

"No way! Dawn, the last plan you gave me was a total bust!" Ash yelled to the young coordinator while waving his arms about. He accidentaly knocked pikachu off of his shoulder and made him land on his face, needless to say, the electric mouse was agrivated by this.

"Pika pikachu!" Pikachu said while unleashing a small thunder shock at its trainer. The shock brought Ash back to reality and made him realise he knocked pikachu off of his shoulder.

"Oh! Sorry Pikachu, I guess I got carried away," Ash said while he strached the back of his head. Pikachu jumped back onto his shoulder, accepting his apology.

"Well, Ash, how are you going to give May her present?" Dawn asked. Ash pondered the thought through his head before giving an answer.

"I don't know, I guess I'll just give it to her when I do," Ash said with a nervous laugh. Pikachu's, Brock's, and Dawn's sweat dropped at the answer.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"And so, they decided to tag along with me," Alex said to May, while indicating Latios and Latias. May nodded in understanding. The pokemon finished their conversation quicker than the trainers did so they were waiting patiently for them to finish. As soon as the trainers conversation, Latias, being the ball of energy that she was flew up to May and took her bandana, which irritated May.

"Hey! Give back my bandana!" May demanded. Alex's sweat dropped and gardevoir let out a sigh. "Is she always like this?" May asked still trying to get her bandana back from the energetic pokemon.

"_Im afraid so,"_ Gardevoir said solemly. Alex let out a laugh before helping May.

"Here, let me help," Alex said as he grabbed Latias from around the neck and wrestled her to the ground, while she playfully resisted. Latias was defeated when Alex started to tickle her and may joined in and caused the eon pokemon to break out in uncontrolable laughter, and by doing so dropping May's bandana.

"There we go, good as new!" May happily said as she tied he bandana back on her head. "That one has way too much energy. It would probably do her some good to get some contest practice in. Oh snap! I still need to practice!' May exclaimed.

"Well, lets get to it!" Alex said.

"You know what, it can wait till tomorrow," May said trying to put it off.

"You sure?" Alex asked.

"Yeah, im sure, its my birthday, im allowed to do what I want right?" May said with a wink.

"If you say so," Alex replied. At that moment May's pokenav began to ring.

"Hey! it's home!" May said as Eevee jumped on May's shoulder. May accepted the call and saw her mother, father, and her brother on the small video pad.

"Happy Birthday May!" the three shouted in unison. May thanked them and began to have a conversation with her family while Alex quietly returned his pokemon and quietly exited the room.

"So May! how've you been on your own without me?" Max asked.

"I've been fine Max, when are you starting your journey?" May asked her brother.

Max grinned, im starting in a couple of weeks. First im gonna get my Treecko, and then im going to get my Ralts!" Max exclaimed.

"You know Max, while i've been out here on my own, i've gone and caught a Ralts myself," May said to brother with a hint of pride.

"What! no fair!" Max yelled at his older sister. Max stormed out of the video pattern muttering somthing that May couldn't here.

"Oh, don't mind him dear," Caroline said to her daughter.

"Yeah, Max is just jealous," Norman said.

"Yeah, I know, thats why I told him," May said. "Oh! theres someone I wanted you to meet," May said as she was about to introduce Alex. "Hm, guess he left, well anyway,..." May started as she began to tell her parents about how she found Alex in the forest and all the events up to that point.

"May, thats quite a story, what did you say his name was?" Caroline asked her daughter.

"His name is Alex, and surprisingly, hes alot like Ash, except for he has brown hair and blue eyes," May replied. Norman looked lost in thought, nubbing hia chin with one of his fingers.

"And you said he had a Celebi with him?" Norman asked.

"Yeah, why?" May asked with a puzzeled reason.

"Oh, no reason, no reason at all," Norman said with a nervous voice while scratching the back of his head with one hand and waving it off with the other. Caroline's sweat dropped, deep down, Caroline knew Norman just concluded somthing in his head, but she decided not to persue the topic until they were done talkig tho May.

After a while, the family had begun a nice conversation, while Alex and Gardevoir had decided to walk around the pokemon center. "_While you were talking to May, im afraid Latios accidentaly told Eevee a little bit about your father's past.," _Gardevoir said to Alex who was walking right beside her.

"_As long as they don't fit all the peices together, we should be fine," _Alex replied.

"_And whats so bad about telling them?" _Gardevoir asked. Alex simply looked at her. Gardevoir knew the answer but he said it anyway.

"_That would make too much of an akward situation, and just like me, you absolutly hate those."_

"_Don't remind me," _Garedvoir said with a sigh. The two laughed as they continued to walk through the halls until they came to the front door. "_What do you say to a walk through the park?" _Gardevoir asked.

"_Sounds fine with me!" _Alex replied. Gardevoir beamed with delight. Alex smiled at her. "_It's so nice to see a world not torn in half. Here we are, in a world at peace, with no death, no fighting, it's so peaceful, I could live here forever."_ Alex said while looking at the sky.

"_It's sad knowing that the world will change because of theambition of one man," _Gardevoir said.

"_Not if I can help it!"_ Alex said with a determined look on his face. Gardevoir gave him a questionable look as they arrived at the park.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"So Dawn, how's contest practice coming?" Brock asked Dawn. The young coordinator looked at him before realising what he asked her.

"Oh! Um, good I guess..." Dawn said nervously, while scratching the back of her head. Ash and Brock's sweat dropped.

"So, in other woods, you haven't even started yet?" Ash jeered at Dawn.

"Ok, no I didn't! That's because I've been too busy helpping you loverboy!" Dawn jeered back. Ash pulled his hat over his face. He felt embarassed at being called "loverboy." Dawn saw this and yanked the hat of his head revealing a deeply blushing Ash.

"Hey! Give me back my hat!" Ash commanded.

"Not until May gets her present!" Dawn stated. Ash began to blush even more. Ash bagan to mumble somthing that Dawn and Brock couldn't hear, but Pikachu heard it and broke out laughing. "What's so funny?" Dawn asked.

"Oh, nothing," Ash said while trying to be as sincere as possible.

"You know Ash, the longer you put off giving May her present, the worse it will get, right?" Brock said. Ash looked at the ground. He was acually afraid of giving May her gift, not because she might not like it, but because he would get rejected. "If I can make a suggestion, I would say just get it over with." Ash nodded. He pulled out his pokenav and began to dial May's number, pushing the buttens as slow as possible.

'_You can do this Ash, you can do this'_ he thought to himself. '_No, I can't do this. This might be my only shot! Drew probably already gave her an amzing present already, so whats the point. No! Stop thinking like that Ash, she'syour best friend, human friend at least, and you love her, youcan do this!'_ Ash argued in his head while he was still dialling her number. '_She did blow me a kiss, maybe I do have a chance!'_

"Stop stalling and just call her already!" Dawn yelled anxiously. Ash jumped, not expecting the ferocity from her. He finished dialing the number and hit send. while the ringer was going, Ash was beginning to freak out. "Your almost there, you can do it!" Dawn said trying to calm him down.

"Pikapi!" Pikachu added. Brock just nodded. The next few seconds were probably some of the longest in Ash's life, but when the small screen changed from the "please wait" screen to the face of a certain brunette coordinator, Ash's heart jumped in his chest.

"Ash!" May said. A large smile streached across her face at the sight of the raven haired trainer. Ash blushed a little at the sight of the girl he loved.

"Hey May! How's your birthday going?" Ash asked. A smile streached across his face as well. This caused May to blush, but Ash didn't see it. '_What am I doing? Why did I cut straight to her birthday? What's wrong with me?' _

"Its ok, got woken up a little too early, but all is good," May said with a smile. "Um, Ash, are you ok?" May asked noticing Ash lost in thought.

"Yeah! Im fine," Ash said waving it off with one of his hands. '_This isn't going as I hoped it would.'_

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"So how did your gym battle go?" May asked, sitting in a chair at the pokemon center lobby. Eevee was curled up in a ball snuggling on May's lap purring lightly. May was enjoying the conversation with the boy she loved. '_Oh Ash, I miss you so much,'_ she thought to herself. While she held her pokenav in one hand, her terracota ribbion was in her other hand.

"It went great! I got my coal badge without a problem!" Ash proudly stated with a large grin. May noticed herself blush even more as she saw his trademark grin. This time Ash noticed it but didn't say anything about it. "Oh, um May?"

"Yeah Ash?" May replied. '_Is he going to say what i hope hes going to say?'_

"Your still at the pokemon center right?" Ash asked while a blush engulfed his face.

"Yeah, why?"

"Um, well, I was going to send you your present via transporter, but I needed to know if you were still at the pokemon center."

"Really?" May said surprised. '_He got me a present?'_ "What did you get me?" May asked playfully.

"I don't know, I guess your gunna have to get it and find out," Ash said, just as playfully. "I just need the number of the pokemon center your at."

"Oh, well, that makes sense I guess." May gave Ash the pokemon center number. and the same time, walked over to their perspective transporters. Eevee got up and followed May, not jumping on her shoulders because she didn't want to ruin may's time with Ash. '_I wonder what he got me. Probably some book or somthing.'_

"Alright, here it comes!" Ash said it a shaky voice, but May didn't notice as a pokeball appeared on the transporter pad.

"Uh, its just a pokeball Ash," May jokingly said. '_A pokemon? He would have gotten me that pokemon could he? No, he's way too dense.'_ "What pokemon did you get me Ash?"

"Open it up and find out!" Ash managed to say. He was shaking completly, for him it was make it, or break it. May picked up the pokeball and through the small portable screen Ash could see her toss the ball to open it.

"Ash!" was all May was able to say, her eyes were glued to the small heart shaped pokemon that stood before her. '_Oh my gosh! Its a Luvdisc! The pokemon that symbolises love! Ash really dose feel the same way!' _May thought to herself. Her heart seemed to have run a marathon in her chest. "Ash, you do realise what this pokemon means right?" May asked the trainer, tears strting to build up in her eyes.

"Yes May, I do, I wanted to tell you how I felt before I left, but I was too afraid to," Ash said. Ash then noticed the tears building up in her eyes. "But if you liked Drew more I would completly understand.." Ash sarted, a bit broken down.

"No Ash! Why would you think I liked Drew at all?" May asked, tears running down her cheecks. '_He really loves me!'_

"Well, Drew always gives you roses and he's all romantic and stuff, I thought I had no chance." Ash said, his hope rekindled.

"Oh Ash, you are so dense somtimes, I love you!" May said to the stunned trainer. A deep red blush streached across both their faces.

"I- I love you too May," Ash said. '_More than you can imagine.'_ May squealed with happiness and Ash couldn't help but smile.

"Ash! we gatta travel together again!" May suddenly said.

"Yeah! that would be great!" Ash said. A large smile erupted on May's face.

"So i'll see you in Sinnoh as soon as I can!" May said.

"Wait May, what about the Johto grand Festival?" Ash asked.

"It dosen't matter, after all, there are contests in Sinnoh, and Drew won't be there, come on Ashy, it'll be great!"

"Oh, alright, I guess," Ash said trying to hide his happiness. '_May is gonna give up her Johto contests for me? I don't belive it!'_

The low battery alarm went off on May's pokenav. "Aw, what a moment killer," May said with a sigh. "Ashy, I'll let you know when I finish making traveling arrangments ok?" Ash nodded. "I love you!"

"I love you too May!" Ash said. after that the screen went dark as May's battery died.

"Eevee, we're going to Sinnoh!" May squealled. Eevee who had over heard their entire conversation was proud and happy for May. It was then that May noticed the pendant that the Luvdisc was wearing, it had a not attached to it. May read it in her head. "_Dear May, Happy Birthday! If I can't tell you how I feel for you with words, I hope this pendant and this Luvdisc tell you for me. Love, Ash." 'I love you Ash, and I can't wait to get to Sinnoh!'_

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

_"This park is absolutly beautiful!" _Gardevoir said with sparkiling eyes. Alex, who wasn't all that impressed with the park, was too busy looking around for other people. "_Can you ever relax? I mean seriously, its not like your going to get attacked or anything,"_ Gardevoir said. Just as she finished saying that someone jumped out of the bushes and tackled Alex to the ground. Gardevoir flinched as the intense pain from her trainer rebounded through their mental bond. She quickly used her psychic powers to throw that attacker off of her trainer and went over to help Alex up. "_Alex! Are you alright?"_ Gardevoir asked worriedly.

"Stupid stiches," Alex spat out. "_Yeah, im fine, I think," _Alex said to Gardevoir as he held his chest where the stiches broke. Then he turned to who tackled him. "Who are you, and why did you tackle me like that?" He asked angerly to the man getting up a few yards away.

"Me? I was just helpping out a friend, and I still am," The man said. "Cacturne! Go!" the man said as he tossed a pokeball into the air. A tall cactus pokemon came out. The man had purple hair and dressed just like his pokemon. "Use pin missle now!" the man said. His pokemon raised its hands as large needles shot towards Alex and Gardevoir like missles.

Gardevoir instinctivly stepped infront of alex and used protect and the needles exploded against an invisible sheild. "_Shoot, everyone else is at the pokemon center,"_ Alex said as he shot a sad glace at Gardevoir.

"_That dosen't matter, I'll personally wipe the floor with this coward,"_ Gardevoir said without even making a glance to her worried trainer. She wouldn't take her eyes off of the Cacturne in front of her.

"_But, you know I hate to see you bsttle, it's too dangerous!" _Alex objected. He was about to step up, but Gardevoir put her hand up and stopped him.

"_A simple battle is one thing, but a dirty ambush is somthing else entirely!" _She said with anger in her voice.

"Aw, how sweet, a boy and his Gardevoir, too bad its not going to end pretty for you pal, Im gonna break you!" The man said. "Cacturne! Make them wish they were never born, pin missile!" At its master's command, the cactus pokemon unleashed another round of pin missiles. Gardevoir used confusion and turned the attack back upon the sender. The Cacturne dodged and the missiles exploded on the ground sending up a cloud of dust.

"_Careful Gardevoir, theres somthing about this guy,"_ Alex said as he went back to back with Gardevoir, to try and help her see.

"_I think your right, he's not trying to win as much as to stall," _She said. "_Remember what he said, "Im just helpping out a friend" Oh no!"_

_"May!" _they both said.

"_I say we end this now, why don't you give them a taste of real power?" _Alex suggested. Gardevoir nodded. She used her psychic powers to clear the dust and locate Cacturne. She charged a fire punch in her hand and teleported right behind the startled Cacturne. She punched it and sent it flying towards a tree with a dazed look in it's eyes.

"Oh dear," the man said as he recalled his fainted pokemon. Gardevoir glared at him, but he didn't move. "So, you may have beaten me, but I think i've stalled you long enough, but just to seal the deal.." he started before charging at Alex. Gardevoir stopped him halfway and flung him back with her powers.

"_Don't you even think about hurting him!" _she yelled. "_You're finished! I suggest you leave before I make you,"_ She said with an intimidating face. The man, had a fearful look in his eye before he turned and ran away.

"_You really were'nt going to hurt him,"_ Alex jeered. Gardevoir put her hands on her waist.

"_Maybe I would have, he was going to hurt you,"_ She replied.

"_Aw, Im touched,"_ Alex said. "_I think now maybe we should go check up on May!"_

"_Right!"_ Gardevoir replied.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Wow, this pendant is absolutly beautiful!" May said to Eevee while she put the diamond pendant on. They were back in her room, May had sent the Luvdisc to her home to show her parents, and so they could look after it for her. '_It must have cost ash a fortune,'_ she thought as she tucked the pendant under her blouse. "And it seems like a certain Eevee is going to be able to be with a certain Pikachu," May added causing the little fox pokemon to blush deeply.

"Eevee! Ve ee." Eevee said, trying to shake off the blush.

"Ok, ok, relax! I promise I won't tell Pikachu," May said while waving her hand. Eevee sighed a sigh of relief.

"Hey there May," a calm yet egotistic voice said.

"Drew! What do you want know?" May said not even having to turn to see him.

"I can't even come and see a friend anymore?" He asked innocently. He handed her a rose, but May didn't even reach for it, so he pulled his arm back.

"Who ever said we were friends?" May said coldly.

Drew shrugged. "Accually, I came to appologise. That jerk you were handing around with earlier was just getting on my nerves, but now that hes gone..." Drew started as he quietly closed the door.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Hey you guys! Guess what!" Ash said anxiously as he returned to Dawn and Brock. They both looked at him and saw that his face was still beet red.

"Uh, that your talk with May went really really well," Dawn said to him trying to contain her laughter. Brock snickered next to Dawn. Pikachu just gave Ash a victory sign, he overheard their conversation.

"Yeah, but it gets even better!" Ash said.

"Well, come on, don't keep us in the dark," Brock said.

"Well, May told me that she acually loves me!" Ash said, he could barly contain his joy. Dawn squealed.

"Thats great Ash! So when's the wedding?" Brock said. Ash just blushed deeper.

"Um, I don't know Brock, when are you going to get a girlfriend?" Ash taunted Brock. "Acually, May decided to come here to Sinnoh to travel with us!" Ash yelled with happiness.

"Travel with you," Dawn corrected him. Brock nodded in agreement.

"Oh come on guys, im not gonna abandon you guys!" Ash said.

"We never said you would, but May isn't coming to travel with us, she's coming to be with you," Brock said.

"So? We can all travel as a group, we managed with Max," Ash said.

"We could, but it'll only be a matter of time before May gets irritated with the two of us," Brock said pointing to himself and Dawn.

"Wait, who's Max?" Dawn asked.

"He's May's little brother, he's acually close to your age by now," Ash answered.

"Oh," Dawn said in understanding.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"_Come on! We have to hurry!" _Alex yelled as he ran as fast as he could. He was completly ignoring all the pain he was reciving from his torn stiches, but it only made Gardevoir worry for him.

"_Your stiches!" _Gardevoir said with much worry in her voice, but Alex shut her out. '_It's not good for your health, I don't want to lose you like I did your parents. I love you too much for that,'_ she thought to herself.

Eventually the pokemon center began to come into view. '_We're almost there,'_ Alex thought to himself. GArdevoir could only sigh with discontent as her trainer was losing to much blood, but was to stubborn to realise it. 


	6. A friend revealed, a threat rising

**The Dark Reign of Cipher**

**Chapter 6**

"Drew, what are you doing?" May asked, slightly irritated and puzzeled by Drew's actions. She watched him carefully as he made his way to her bed and sat next to her. His emerald eye's peirced her, and she felt like throwing up. He flipped his green hair, as he gave her a small smile. '_I think I'm going to throw up,'_ May thought to herself.

"There is somthing I've always wanted to tell you, but your friends always seemed to have gotten in the way," Drew started as he crept closer to May. May's sweat dropped as she started to scoot away from him. Drew grabed May's wrist "Hear me out, ok?" May didn't even have a say in the matter, Drew wouldn't stop talking, and he had a firm grip on May's wrist. "Ever sense I first layed eyes on you, I knew we're meant to be together," He said drawing his face closer to May's.

'_If he tries to kiss me, I'm gonna bite his shrubby face,'_ May thought darkly. "Drew.." May started but was cut off.

"May, I love you, and I want to be with you forever," Drew said as he tried to kiss her. May put her arms up to stop him but he moved them out of the way. He was about to kiss her when they heard the door knob turn. "Don't even try, the door is locked from the inside!" Drew called out. '_Damn it! Harley, your so useless!'_ Drew angerly thought.

"Drew! Sop!" May cried out, with tears in her eyes. '_I think he's going to rape me!'_ Drew wasn't listining. The door smashed open and Alex rushed in, picked Drew up by the collar and pinned him up against the wall. Drew could only stare into his blue eyes, he could see the rage that was in them.

"You will leave her alone, or so Arceus help me, I will end you!" he said as angerly as possible to the frightened coordinator. Gardevoir quietly walked in and helped May up. May wiped the tears from her eyes and was shocked by what she just heard.

"Is that a threat?" Drew asked trying to sound intimidating. "Are you her body guard or somthing? I have powerful friends you know."

"Maybe I am, and if you count that Cacturne clown who ambushed us as powerful, then thats pretty sad, but no, it wasn't a threat, it was a promise!" Alex replied. Drew's eyes shifted to the floor as he saw just how mad May was now.

"So, you sent Harley to get him away from me so you could have your way with me?" May asked angerly with her hands on her waist.

"May, it wasn't like that..." Drew tried to deffend himself.

"Really? Well then, what was it like?" She demanded.

"I- its just that," Drew started. He growled and turned towards Alex, "It's all your fault!"

"My fault? I was just harmlessly walking throygh the park when some creep jumped me. Then the guy said he was helping a friend so I was worried for May, so we came back to find this," Alex simpily said. "Just be glad we didn't bring the police with us!" Drew snarled at him.

"I am going to break you, not today, maybe not tomorrow, but some day, I will break you," Drew threatened him.

"Oh I'm so scared," Alex mocked. "Just get out of here!"

"Fine!" Drew said as he casually fliped his hair and walked away like nothing happened. Alex glared at him with every step he took before a hand touched his shoulder.

"_Your going to pass out if you don't calm down..."_ Gardevoir started, but cut herself off as Alex fell to the floor, May gasped.

"Is he ok?" May asked concerned. Gardevoir laid him down on the bed. She took off his hoodie and revealed a blood stained white t-shirt. May went wide eyed.

"_I warned him, and now he passed out due to blood loss, but don't worry he'll be fine,"_ Gardevoir said as her healing abilities began to sow his re-opened wound shut. "_There, he just needs some rest. He'll be fine after that."_

'_How am I going to tell these guys that I'm leaving for Sinnoh? They've been so nice, they evened saved me from Drew, it would be wrong if I just leave them here,'_ May thought to herself. "Have you guys ever been to Sinnoh?" May asked the Gardevoir that was sitting next to her trainer.

"_Not in a very long time, Why? Are you gonna go run off?" _Gardevoir asked as if she knew what May was thinking. May looked away in shame. "_Let me tell you somthing, somthing that Alex would hate for me to tell you, but I think its for the best," _Gardevoir started. May looked at her with a puzzeled look on her face.

"What?" She asked as Gardevoir pulled out a similar pendant from under Alex t-shirt and held it in front of May. "T-that looks like the same pendant that Ash gave me," May noted.

"_May, thats because it _is_ the same pendant that Ash gave you. It's no coincidence that he just like you and Ash,"_ Gardevoir said calmly while gentily petting her trainer's messy brown hair.

'He looks like Ash, but not like me," May said still completly confused. Gardevoir sighed.

"_He has your eyes, your hair, and your caring heart," _Gardevoir clarified.

"Are you saying..." May started. '_Could she be saying that im a mom? Thats impossible! I'm fourteen! I can't be a mom!' _Gardevoir handed May the second pendant and watched May as she opened it.

"_Yes, he is your son, and he has taken up alot after his parents, but I'm afraid that somtimes the stress can be too much for him." _May couldn't speak, tears were gathering in her eyes. May was looking at the small picture on the inside, it showed her and Ash, with a baby.

"I'm going to be a mom? I'm going to have a family, with Ash?" May managed to say. Gardevoir nodded, May began to cry tears of joy. "That means we're going to live happy lives and get married!" May squealed. "But, then why did you two appear in the forest, what happened?" She asked as the happiness left her face.

"_The future can be a dangerous place, I do not know how much of it we have changed already, but seeing as how we're still here, it couldn't have been that bad," _Gardevoir said quietly. Alex stired in his sleep. May handed back his pendant. "_He can't know that I've told you, he'll kill me,"_ Gardevoir said humorously.

"I don't think he would over react that badly, but ok, I promise I won't tell him," May promised as Gardevoir placed the pendant back around his neck and gentely tucked it under his shirt. "So are you guys gonna come to Sinnoh with me?" May asked.

"_If you'll let us,"_ Gardevoir said with a wink. May smiled, and they both looked at the sleeping trainer.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Harley! Your so useless! I was so close, but you had to screw things up! I thought you said you were gonna deal with that jerk!" Drew yelled at Harley. "Now May thinks im some sort of rapist!"

"Drew, that guy's Gardevoir was tough, she took down my strongest pokemon with one attack, there wasn't much I could do," Harley said in his deffence. "There's isn't much that you would have been able to do!" Harley said. The two of them were walking down the street on their way back to their hotel. They turned down an alley to take a short cut.

"So whats Plan B?" Drew asked. Harley thought for a moment.

"I don't know, I'll let you know when I figure it out," Harley replied. Drew let out a sigh. They continued to walk down they alley continuing their conversation until Drew and Harley walked into two figures right in front of them.

"Hey! What the..." Drew started as he looked up at the figures. They both wore black cloths with metal plates covering them. They had scarves that covered their necks and hung loosely behind their backs. Their helmets covered their entire faces except for their noses and mouths. "Who are you? Let us pass!" Drew demanded.

"Oh, I don't think so," a voice from behind them said. Both Drew and Harley turned around to see who it was. They saw a man wearing a grey over coat with purple stripes running down the middle and branched of to the sides. He had gray hair and light brown eyes. "Your not going anywhere," he said. "We know all about the little, "inccident" that occured ealier today at the park, and we want to help you gentleman get your revenge."

"Why should we belive you?" Drew said.

"Yeah pal, just who are you goons?" Harley asked. The man simply raised a hand and beckoned them to follow him.

"If you want that little punk dealt with, then come with me," The man said as he started to walk away. Drew and Harley looked at each other and then turned to follow the man. The two men that stopped them silently followed.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Ash, Ash! Ash!!" Dawn shouted in his ear, but Ash didn't hear her, he was lost in his own thoughts.

'_May wants to come here to Sinnoh, to be with me, I don't belive it! She acually loves me! This is the greatest day of my life!'_ Ash thought to himself. It was only after a cup of freezing water splashed on his face that he snapped out of his thoughts. "What was that for!?" he yelled.

"I told you that would work," Brock said to Dawn. Ash's sweat dropped as Dawn sighed.

"You promised you'd help me Ash!" Dawn said trying to pull off a puppy dog face, but it had no affect on Ash.

"I don't remember promising to help you," Ash replied.

"Well, will you anyway?" Dawn pleaded. Ash sighed.

"Sure, I'll help you, but you might want to save it for tomorrow, the sun is going down," Ash said.

"He's right Dawn, It won't do you much good if you practice when you can't see," Brock said. Dawn sulked but gradually agreed. Ash's stomach growled, causeing Dawn and Brock's sweat to drop. "I guess that means its dinner time," Brock said and they broke out laughing.

As they began to walk to the cafeteria, ash started a conversation with his partner. "Pikachu, I still can't belive May is coming here! She's gonna be traveling with us again! Oh, i can't wait till she gets here!" Ash said cheerfully to his partner.

"Pika chu pikachu pika pika pikapi," Pikachu replied. Ash looked at him and rubbed his head.

"Who would have thought that it would have been possible?"

"Pika pi, chu," Pikachu said while scratching the back of his head as a large deep blush appeared on his face. Ash gave Pikachu a large grin.

"Well now I guess we're both in love!" Ash said to his partner. Pikachu nodded. "And as soon as May gets here, we can find out how Eevee feels."

"Chu, pikachu."

"Don't worry buddy, I'm sure she likes you."

"What are you talking about Ash?" Dawn said, startling both Ash and Pikachu.

"Oh, nothing, just guy stuff," Ash said while nervously waving his hand. Dawn raised an eyebrow, but didn't pressure him, instead, she just let it go and kept walking. Both Ash and Pikachu sighed a breathe of relief. "That was close," Ash said.

They group arrived at the cafeteria and quickly got their dinners. Ash's pile was the bigest, it was large enough to put even a buffet to shame. Brock's was about average size, consisting of soup, some steamed vegiatbles. and a small steak. Dawn's plate was the smallest and it consisted of a salad and a small bowl of fruit. Ash instantly began to plow his way through his plate, while Brock and Dawn took it steady. Their pokemon were all enjoying their own dinners, all of which were specialised pokemon food made by Brock.

"Im afraid to think about how large your grocery shopping list will be when you and May get married," Dawn joked. This caused Ash to spit up what ever food he had in his mouth at the time.

"What!" he said as a deep blush reached across his face, which made Brock start laughing. "Its not funny you guys!," Ash said before going back to his food. Dawn giggled and then went back to her salad. Pikachu finished his food and returned to his place on Ash's shoulder before Ash handed Pikachu his fork, then Pikachu dug into the almost empty to finish cleaning it for Ash. When their plates were cleaned and their pokemon were full, they returned them to their pokeballs. "Im gonna go take a shower, ok?" Ash said to his companions as they returned to their room. They gave him the ok and he went into the bathroom and began his shower.

"Hey Brock?" Dawn asked as she sat down on her bunk. Brock looked at her from his bunk.

"Yeah Dawn?" Brock asked in response.

"How did Ash and May meet anyway?" She asked the experienced traveller.

"Well, you see, it all started when Team Rocket..." Brock began to tell the story of how Ash and May meet and became great friends, and later how they fell for each other, but were too scared to tell each other, of how they both about their feelings and how he gave them both advice. He ended the story after the Terracota Contest and May's departure.

"I could see how much that hurt Ash, but how come it didn't show when I meet him?" Dawn asked.

"Its probably because he's good at hiding his emotions, alot of guys are Dawn," Brock pointed out.

"So, if I asked you for some advice on how to get Gary Oak, would you help?"

"Yeah, I would just tell you to be your self, and to stay confident." Dawn sighed and looked down. Brock noticed this and looked at her. "Hey, you have a chance! If two dense trainers that are regions away can fall in love together, I'm sure you can get Gary Oak!" Brock said trying to cheer her up, and it worked.

"You really think so Brock?" She asked.

"Totally!" He replied with a grin. Dawn squealled.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

May looked at the sleeping trainer on her bed and the Gardevoir who had fallen asleep watching him, together, the two looked so peaceful. It brought a smile to her face as thoughts raced through her mind. '_A family! With Ash! I can't belive it! I can't wait till I tell Mom and Dad!'_ she thought, but abruptly stopped as she imagined the impact she would get from her parents. '_Maybe I won't tell them just yet...'_ she decided. _'What would Ash's mom think? Would she be happy, shocked, surprised? Miss Ketchum has always been the sweet and understanding type, maybe she would be overcome with joy,'_ she continued to think. It was then that May looked out the window and saw that the sun had already gone down. '_Wow! It's late! how long have I been sitting here?'_ May shrugged it off and went to take a shower. '_Im so happy, I don't think I could eat! Or even sleep for that matter!'_

Back in May's room, Alex woke up, noticed Gardevoir sleeping peacefuly next to him and decided to snuggle up in her arms before falling asleep again. His actions woke up Gardevoir and when she looked down and saw the boy snuggling in her arms. She held him in a loving embrace and fell back to sleep as well. Eventually, May got out of the shower and was dressed in her night gown. She noticed the two sleeping on the bed so she walked over to her pack, pulled out a blanket and sat down in a cozy chair next to the bed. Her sleepy Eevee instintivly jumped up onto her lap and let lose a yawn. May petted the tired Eevee as it fell asleep purring in her arms.

'_Today was a great birthday! Who would have thought that the wishes you make while blowing out birthday candles actually come true!'_ May thought as she released a quiet giggle. Suddenly, surprising herself she yawned and started to dose off. '_Some sleep might be a good idea...'_ May thought as she drifted into a deep sleep.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ash came out of the bathroom in his pijamas. Dawn went in as soon as he came out. Ash was about to go to sleep when Brock got his attention. Ash turned to look at the aspiring breeder. "Yeah Brock?" Ash asked.

"You promise that nothing will change between any of us once May gets here?" Brock asked. Ash looked at him and grinned.

"Brock, you know me better than that, you know nothing will change!" Ash replied. Brock nodded and went to sleep. '_I wonder why he thought things would change, he should know better than that,'_ Ash thought to himself as he climbed up to his bunk. He quickly got comfertable and fell asleep, Pikachu slept right next to his pillow.

"Dawn came out of the shower in her night gown and noticed the other two fast asleep. "Good night to you to guys!" she said with an irritated voice. She quickly shrugged it off and went to bed and fell into a deep sleep just like the others.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"So just who are you?" Drew asked the mysterious figure. Harley was wondering the same thing, but Drew asked before he did. The figure kept going, as if he didn't hear him, until he answered.

"My name is Darious, and I am part of an organisation that specialises in bringing pokemon to there highest potential. If you have any further questions, I suggest you hold them until tomorrow, there I will explain everything," Darious explained. Drew and Harley looked puzzeled.

'_Their highest potential?'_ Drew thought. Drew thought about what the man said and gradually began to understand. '_They mean battling, they must have found a way to make pokemon super strong! I can use that to finally crush Ash and win May over!'_ Drew thought with a smirk.

"So, what do you mean by "their highest potential?"" Harley asked. Darious ignored him and continued to walk until they came to an abandoned warehouse near the edge of town. Darious pulled out an ID card and held it in front of a panel. The panel analyzed the card with a series of green lazers before a green light flashed and the door opened.

On the outside, the building looked run down, and out of service, but on the inside, it was filled with highly sophisticated computers and personel constantly patrolled the building. "Welcome, to instalation two-zero-zero-four, our most recent outpost," Darious said. "You shall be brought to me in the morning, so for now, let these guards escort you to your rooms." The two men that followed Drew and Harley took the lead as they led them through the building. Most of it was underground, and it consisted of a series of tunnels that formed a labyrinth. Drew and Harley arrived at their rooms.

The rooms consisted of a cot, a desk, and a small wardrobe for their cloths. The rooms had a gray look to them as they were only light up but one large light. "Cozy," Drew sarcasticly said. Harley nodded in agreement as he explored his room across the hall. "Well, its getting late, I'm going to bed," he said as he shut his door. Harley did the same and shut his door.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Once the sun came up, Gardevoir was the first one to wake up. She looked around and noticed May sleeping in her chair with Eevee on her lap. Then she looked down at the boy sleeping in her arms. '_Aw, your so cute when your not getting into trouble,'_ she thought. She petted his hair, which woke him up. "_I'm sorry, I didn't mean to wake you up,"_ she apollogised.

"_No, its ok. Wow, I haven't slept that good in a long time,"_ Alex said while yawning. Gardevoir smiled at him and pet his hair again, he smiled back at her. He made a quick survey of his surroundings and found May asleep on the chair. "_Now I fell bad, we slept on her bed while she slept on that chair."_ Alex said as his smile disappeared.

"_I wouldn't worry about that, she seems to have slept nicely,"_ Gardevoir said, reading the sleeping coordinator's dreams. "_I say we go get breakfast!"_ she suggested. Alex was about to speak out in protest, but his stomach spoke out before he could. "_You can't argue with a growling stomach!"_ she said playfully. Alex blushed with embarassment.

"_I guess not,"_ he replied. The two of them quietly left the room, careful not to wake May up, and started for the cafeteria. May however woke up shortly after the other two left and looked around the room.

"Good morning Eevee!" she said to the little fox pokemon sleeping on her lap. Eevee yawned and streched as she was woken up from her slumber. "hm, it seems the other two are already out and about," May said as she got to her feet. "We better catch up to them if we're gonna discuss our traveling arrangements!" She said excitedly. With that May walked into the bathroom, got ready for the day and went to go look for the others She didn;t have to go far, she caught up with Alex and Gardevoir as they were about to head into the cafeteria.

"_Good morning!"_ Gardevoir said to her before Alex even noticed she was there.

"Good morning you guys!" May said. That good alex's attention and he turned to face her.

"Good morning May," he said, still partially tired. May smiled at him.

"Come on, lets go get some food, I'm starving!" May said. She led the way for the other two into the cafeteria. They got there food and sat down. May, having a large plate, but it was smaller than normal considering her usual appitite. Alex's plate was about the same size as May's if not a little bigger. Gardevoir had a fruit salad. When they started eating, Alex and May took off as their plates gradually became empty, while Gardevoir took her time with her salad. '_Wow, he even shares our appitite. Yup, there is no denying it, we're related!'_ May thought as she watched him eat.

"So, do you guys want to go to Sinnoh with me?" May asked them when they finished eating. Some how, they all finished eating at about the same time. Alex pretended to ponder it for a moment before agreeing. he turned to Gardevoir.

"_What do you think?" _He asked her. Gardevoir smiled at him.

"_Sounds like fun to me!"_ she replied to her trainer. Gardevoir then said to May, "_Remember, he can't know that I told you."_

_"Ok," _May replied in her head. "So, where is the nearest port?" She asked. Alex pulled a map up on his poketch.

"The closest port is in Olivine City, if we go straight through the the National Park, which is just a day's walk away, we can skip Ecruteak City and just go west and get to Olivine in two days," Alex explained. "From there we can catch a ship to Sinnoh." May nodded in agreement. "We can head there after tomorrow, if you want."

"No, lets leave today," May said, startling Alex. Noticing his puzzeled expression she said, "The sooner we leave the better, I want to get as far away from Drew as I can, and if he still thinks im going to participate in the contest, he'll stay, so we would be a good day's worth ahead of him. Besides, I'm sure there are contests in Sinnoh."

"Alright, I say we go and get packed, and meet each other in the lobby in one hour," Alex said. May nodded. The three of them got up and headed back to their rooms.

"_You seemed to have had a plan already, didn't you?" _Gardevoir asked him. Alex smiled at her, only adding more confusion in her mind.

_"With all due respect, I eavesdropped on your conversation you had with May last night,"_ Alex said, causing the embrace pokemon to blush with embarassment. "_And, if you really wanted to tell her the truth that badly, you should have just said so,"_ Alex added. Gardevoir continued to blush and scratched the back of her head.

"_I thought you would hate me..."_ She started, but Alex cut her off.

"_I wouldn't hate you, I love you, your like a mother to me, you always have been, why would I hate you? Sure, I would have been a little upset, but I would have gotten over it." _Gardevoir smiled, before she just realised somthing.

"_Wait! You passed out, how did you eavesdrop on us?"_ she asked the boy walking beside her.

"_Through our bond silly! Sure, I was passed outlike a baby, but that dosen't mean that my mind can't mend with yours!"_

_"I didn't feel your presence though."_

_"Maybe thats because they're always together, or maybe because it's so familiar that you didn't notice."_

_"So what made the difference?"_ Alex looked at his partner with a confused look. Gardevoir sighed. "_You said it would be akward, but you were completly fine,"_ she said.

"_I don't know, acually, I feel better with her knowing, it takes a load off of my mind."_

_"Yeah, I noticed that, alot less of your concered thoughts have flooded into my mind," _Gardevoir said, causing Alex to blush nervously and scratch the back of his head. The two of them arrived at Alex's room. Everything was already packed, considering that he never unpacked. He quickly changed his cloths, puting on the green shirt to replace the blood stained white shirt under his hoodie. The two of them left the room with all of there stuff and headed to the lobby where they turned their room key over to Nurse Joy and waited for May.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Come on Ash! You said you'd help me with my training!" Dawn shouted to the sleeping trainer. Ash rolled over in his sleep away from the yound coordinator. Dawn took his blankets and yanked them off of his bed.

"Alright, alright, I'm up, shesh!" Ash said rubbing the sand from his eyes. He yawned as Pikachu started to wake up. Ash got out of bed and went to the bathroom to change. when he came out, Dawn was waiting anxiously for him, and was slightly irritated when he completly passed her and started for breakfast, but she shrugged it off decideing that breakfast was a good idea.

After they ate Breakfast, Dawn and Ash walked outside to get some contest practice in. "So Dawn, who are you using?" Ash asked her. Dawn pulled out a pokeball and tossed it in the air. A small brown and tan bunny came out. As it came out of its pokeball, the pokemon did a sumersault in the air and landed on her feet with a healthy cry.

"Im using Buneary! She's cute and im sure she'll do fine!" Dawn said with a confident tone. Ash smirked as he readied his pokeball.

"Alright, sense I can't help you much with your appeal round, lets cut straight to the battle round!" Ash said as he threw Starly's pokeball into the air. The small bird landed on its feet infront of Buneary, ready to battle. Dawn rodded.

"Ok Buneary! Lets start with charm!" Dawn said. Buneary tried to act as cute as possible, but slipped causing the move to fail. Ash's sweat dropped as Dawn squealled in embarassment. Buneary quickly got up with an embarassed blush on its face, ready for another command.

"Don't worry, practice makes perfect. Ok! Starly, use tackle!" Ash commandered. Starly took off from the ground and lunged its self at Buneary, who didn't dodge it in time. Buneary hit the ground with a hard thud, but got back up on its feet, ready for more.

"Buneary! Use bounce!" Dawn said. The bunny pokemon jumped up in the air and hit starly with tremendous force. Starly, strugguling back to its feet looked at the Buneary with determination in its eyes. "Ok, lets use quick attack!" Buneary dashed towards Starly.

"Starly, dodge it and use peck!" Ash said to the small bird pokemon. Starly dodged the quick attack, and retaliated with a few hard hits from it's beak. Buneary was just about fed up now, she had a sense of rage about her now.

"Buneary! use pound!" Dawn ordered. As soon as Buneary heard the attack, she began to beat Starly with her bunny ears, and the now scared Starly could do nothing except get hit, and fall to the ground with a dazed look in its eyes. "Yay! Buneary, we won! Hurray!" Dawn cheered as she jumped for joy. Buneary, soon realising whats she did began to jump for joy as well.

"You did a good job Starly, you deserve a rest," Ash said as he returned Starly to its pokeball. "Congradulations Dawn, but you do realise, that battles are often harder than this, right?" Dawn stopped cheering, and looked at the Buneary at her feet.

"Yeah, I know, we still have a long way to go, but we can get there!" Dawn said with a confident smile. Ash nodded. "But for now, lets take a break, Buneary looks tired."

"Sounds fine by me!" Ash said. The two of them walked over to Brock, who had followed them out and watched them battle. "Well, I'm gonna go talk to May, so I'll see you two in a bit!" Brock and Dawn nodded in agreement. Ash stopped and let Pikachu onto his shoulder. "Im sure a certain Pikachu wants to see a certain Eevee to," Ash added earning a short thundershock for embarassing the electric mouse. Dawn looked confused, but Brock started laughing.

"Like trainer, like partner!" Brock managed to say between laughs, and Ash began to blush, but shook it off and began laughing as well. Dawn still looked confused, so Brock explained. "May has an Eevee that she gose everywhere with, just like Ash and his Pikachu, and apparently, just like his trainer, Pikachu must have fallen for Eevee" Brock nodded in understanding. "And I wouldn't be surprised if Eevee has a thing for Pikachu as well," Brock added. Dawn giggled a little bit.

"That would be so cute!" Dawn said to Brock. Ash had already dissapeared. he was in their room with his pokenav dialing May's number. It didn't take long for her to answer, and a large smile appeared across Ash's face as he saw the girl he loved on the screen.

"Good morning May!" He said with a smile. May smiled back.

"Good morning Ashy!" May replied with a wink.

"So have you come up with a traveling arrangements yet?" Ash asked her. She gave him a large smile.

"I did, I'm going straight to Olivine City and taking the earliest ship to Sinnoh! I think the port that I will arrive at is at Canalave City, I should be there in about three days!" May said excitedly. Ash's face lit up.

"I'll see you there!" He said, just as excited. May squealled.

"I can't wait! I'm gonna get going now so I can get there faster, bye Ashy, I love you!" May said wish as she blew him a kiss.

"I love you too May!" Ash said with a wink. They hung both hung up and Ash's face had a large smile and an even larger blush. Pikachu lightly bit his ear to snap him back to reality. "Thanks Pikachu, lets tell the others where we're going next!." Pikachu nodded in agreement, he wanted to see Eevee just as much as Ash wanted to see May. The two of them rejoined Dawn and Brock who have been having a conversation about type matchups and appeals. When they noticed Ash and Pikachu their conversation took to a different topic.

"So Ash, did May say where she was gonna meet up with us?" Brock asked. Dawn looked at Ash expectantly.

"Yup! She's gonna arrive at Canalave City in three Days!" Ash said. Brock checked his guide book.

"Well, it looks like Canalave City is two Days away from here, so we can head there after the contest and still arrive with some time to spare," Brock said. Ash's face lit up with joy as he happily jumped in the air.

"I can't wait to meet May, I wonder if "The Princess of Hoenn" can give me any pointers!" Dawn said with sparkles in her eyes. "Well, that contest isn't going to win itself! I want to show May my first ribbion when she gets here, so lets get training!" Dawn said after a while. Ash and Brock nodded in agreement and took turns practicing with Dawn.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Drew, where are they taking us?" Harley asked as he and Drew were being lead through the instalation towards the command center.

"How would I know? Its not like I've been here before!" Drew snapped. The two of them were being lead by the same two guards that they encountered the day before, but this time there was another person, this man, looked the exact same as the two guards in appearance, except that his scarf was blue instead of crimson.

"You are going to the command center to see the administrator of this instalation," The man with the blue scarf said. "It is an honor to be summoned to see Admin. Darious, you should count yourselves lucky." The five of them continued until they came to a large set of metal doors. There was a panal to the side where the man pulled out an id card and held it up to the screen.

"Greetings Peon Commander Naps, welcome to the command station of instalation two-zero-zero-four," a computerised voice said from the panal. The small computer clicked and the doors opened. Inside the room was a large holographic map of Johto seemed to hover over a large round table. The room had a spherical shape, and the guards inside were larger in size than the three that escorted Drew and Harley to the room and they all had yellow scarves. Computers were lining the room, most of them were for communications, but others seemed like monitors. There was a large screen in the room on the opposite side of the door. In front of the screen a chair was turned so that the back of it faced the door. Darious could beseen watching the screen as it displayed a battle of some sort.

"Ah, welcome Drew, welcome Harey," he said. and almost instantly as soon as he said there names, the screen went from the battle to showing two full bios, one for Drew, and one for Harley. "Now, let me explain why I have brought you here," Darious started.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"_Ready?"_ Alex asked his Gardevoir. She replied with a nood and the two of them joined May as she turned her room key over to Nurse Joy. "We're ready to go!" Alex said to May. May smiled at him.

"Then lets go!" she said. The three of them walked out the door and started towards the cities northern gate and from there, to the National Park. On their way, they were surprised they didn't run into Drew, for he had a nack for finding them. Alex seemed to be at ease, and Gardevoir wasn't the only one who noticed. "Um, Alex? Are you ok?" Alex looked at her surprised by her question.

"I'm fine! Never better!" he lied with a fake smile. May didn't buy it, but she let it go. "_Somthing just isn't right,"_ he said to his partner.

"_I know what you mean, but lets try not to draw attention to our selves."_ Gardevoir advised. Alex rodded and sighed. "_I know, I hate that feeling to,"_ she comforted him. Alex gave her a weak smile. May looked at the two of them.

'_I wonder whats up, he looks worried. but, why?'_ May thought to herself. '_Hmm, I wonder...,'_ "Hey Alex?" she said and Alex tuned to face her.

"Yeah, whats up?" he replied. May looked at him with a smile. "_What is she thinking?"_ he said to the Gardevoir at his side. She only giggled at him and kept walking. "_Gardy!"_ he persisted, which made her sigh.

"_Why don't you just wait,"_ She replied. Then May spoke up.

"So Alex, do you have anyone special back home?" May said with a giggle. Alex blushed at looked down, and Gardevoir giggled some more. Sense her trainer was unable to answer due to embarassment, Gardevoir answered for him.

"_Well, they're not officially together, but..."_ She started before she was cut off.

"Her name is Emily, and she has a thing for me," Alex said, still deeply embarassed. Gardevoir giggled some more, and Alex gave her a glare.

"_A thing? Thats the understatment of the century!"_ Gardevoir said to both of them. May began to giggle as well, and Alex continued to stare at the ground in shame. "_Romance isn't that bad! besides, she's kinda cute!"_ she said, while nudging him in the arm. Alex's response was a depressed sigh. May giggled at the sight.

'_Awe, he's just like a little kid when it comes to romance,'_ May thought to herself. She decided to mess with the embarassed boy. "So," she started as she walked right next to Alex with a sly expression on her face. "What's she like?" she asked with a wink. Alex completly ignored her question and that made May giggle some more. The rest of their way out of the city was uneventful.

Eventually as the sun began to set, they decided to camp out, they were almost to the central park, in fact, they were only a few minutes away, but they decided to call it a day. As Alex went to go get firewood, May decided to set up her tent, and Gardevoir was starting a fire so they could cook dinner. May decided to break the silence first.

"So what do you guys usually do for dinner when you camp out?" May asked.

"We haven't camped out like this since I was a kid," Alex replied. "Usually, we would look around and live off of the enviornment, we would find berries, and other fuits, and we would set up camp near the stream," he continued.

"That sounds like fun! But, what do you mean you haven't camped out in a while?" May said.

"_Well, when he isn't too busy in the hospitol," _Gardevoir started, but Alex gave her another death glare.

"Hey! I'm not _always_ in the hospitol!" Alex snapped.

"_Or, we're at home," _Gardevoir continued as if he didn't say anything.

-----------------------------------------------------------

"I think that's enough practice for one day," Dawn said. Ash and Brock nodded in agreement. The three of them and their pokemon returned to the pokemon center so they could eat dinner and rest up. It was late in the day.

They were sitting in the cafeteria when Brock started a conversation. "So Dawn, do you feel like your ready for the contest tomorrow?" Brock asked.

"I sure am!" Dawn said with a confident smile. "No need to worry about me!"

"Great! And as soon as your contest is over we can head over to Canalave City and meet up with May!" Ash said with his trademark grin. Dawn nodded.

"Im really looking forward to meeting May, if she's as great as you make her out to be, then she has to be somthing special!" Dawn said, which made Ash blush.

"So Ash, how are you gonna tell Norman?" Brock asked. Ash's blush instantly vanished and was replaced by a terrified look on his face. Dawn looked at him with a skeptic look.

"Oh Ash, it can't be that bad! But, who's Norman?" Dawn asked.

"Norman is May's father, and he's also one of the most powerful gym leaders in Hoenn," Brock said.

"So whats so bad about telling him?" Dawn asked.

"Well Dawn, your lucky that you'll never have to worry about fathers," Ash said with a rather depressing tone. A frown appeared on Dawn's face.

"And just what is that supposed to mean Ash ketchum?" Dawn asked rising to her feet, wrists on her waist. Brock sighed.

"What do you think the scariest partof a relationship is Dawn?" Brock asked. DAwn shrugged it off and gave him an "I don't know" look. "For guys, the scariest part is telling that special someone's father." Dawn looked puzzeled. "You see, guys are very protective over their girls, and that gose double for dads, because they love their daughters with all of their hearts. They will do anything to protect them, and I mean anything." Dawn was still slightly puzzeled, so Brock started to go in depth with some of the possible things that Norman would do to Ash. Ash, hearing all of this started to lose all the color in his face. Pikachu noticed this and tried to calm his trainer down.

Dawn and Brock were so caught up in their conversation that they didn't even notice how scared Ash was. "Pika? Pikachu?" Pikachu asked. That got Brock and Dawn's attention. They turned to face him.

"Um, Ash, are you ok?" Brock asked the trainer. There was no responce from Ash. Dawn waved her hand infront of his face.

"Shesh Ash! You look like you've seen a ghost or somthing!" Dawn exclaimed. Pikachu let loose a small thundershock to bring Ash back to reality.

"T-thanks Pikachu," Ash said as he snapped out of his frozen state. "I think I'm gonna go to bed now," he said as he turned and went towards their room. Dawn and Brock stood there, completly confused by their friend's actions, before they decided to retire as well.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

As it had been over two hours, and Alex had not yet returned to camp, May was starting to get worried. "He still hasn't come back yet, do you think he's in trouble?" May asked Gardevoir as she attended the fire.

"_He's fine, don't worry. If he was in trouble I would know,"_ the embrace pokemon replied. May looked at her.

"How would you know?" she asked.

"_We share a telekenetic bond, we share emotions, thoughts, senses, and somtimes even our bodies. He's fine, don't worry."_

_"_I don't think it should take this long to get firewood," May said looking in the sun's direction as it started to sink below the horizon. "Maybe we should go look for him," May suggested, but just as she finished talking Alex arrived out of the bushes with a bundle of sticks in his arms.. May sighed in relief.

"_I told you not to worry,"_ Gardevoir said to May.

"Where have you been?" May questioned the boy. Alex's sweat dropped as he was taken back by the question. "Don't play dumb! you were gone for almost two hours!"

"I was getting firewood..." Alex started, but he was cut off.

"It dosen't take two hours to get firewood!" May objected.

"Then I found a large berry grove," Alex continued as he set the sticks by the fire and unzipped his backpack revealling a large amount of berries. May looked at all the berries with astonishment.

"How did you find all these, their all so ripe!" May asked as she picked out a sitrus berry. She took a bite out it while Alex picked out another sitrus berry and handed it to his partner.

"By walking around and checking all of the trees in the grove, sorry if it took me a while to get back, but I thought it would be a good idea to stock up," he said while taking out an oran berry for himself. May forgave him easily, especially considering that he took care of dinner.

After a while, they changed into their pajamas, and May turned towards her tent before she noticed somthing that she found cute, yet funny. May started giggling at Alex and Gardevoir. He looked at her curiously.

"What?" he asked. May forced herself to stop giggling.

"You two match perfectly!" May exclaimed clapping her hands together. alex looked down, he was wearing his green t-shirt and white pajama pants, he realised that he and Gardevoir did match.

"So?" he said. May waved it off.

"I just think it's kinda cute," she said as he bade then goodnight and went inside her tent. Alex and Gardevoir shrugged it off and Alex unzipped his sleeping bag so that it could cover both him and his Gardevoir. They leaned up against a tree and fell asleep together, Alex resting his head on Gardevoir's chest spike, while Gardevoir rested her head on his shoulder.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dawn was the first to wake up, she quietly got down from the top bunk and went into the bathroom to take a shower. Afterwards, she quickly got dressed and prepared for the day. When she exited the bathroom, Ash and Brock were already awake. "Did I wake you guys? I'm sorry," Dawn apollogised.

"Nah, we weren't really asleep," Ash said.

"Are you ready for your contest Dawn?" Brock asked.

"Sure am!" Dawn replied. " I'm so excited!" Dawn squealled with anticipation.

"You do know that the contest starts in less than an hour, right?" Ash asked.

"No!" Dawn said as she rushed out of the room. Brock and Ash's sweat dropped.

"Well, we better catch up," Brock suggested. Ash nodded and they left to follow Dawn.

They caught up to Dawn at the contest hall. There, Ash and Brock took their seats in the crowd while the judges were being introduced.

"And finally, our third judge is our very own, Nurse Joy!" the announcer said. "Now then, without farther ado, lets get the Oreburgh Contest under way!" The entire crowd burst out with cheers. One by one, contestants came and preformed their appeals. Eventually it was Dawn's turn.

"And now, our last contestant, all the way from Twin Leaf Town, let's give a big Oreburgh welcome to Dawn and Buneary!" the announcer said. The crowd erupted in another loud applause, as Dawn appeared on stage.

"Yeah! you can do it Dawn!" Ash yelled from the crowd.

"Ok, hear we go Buneary, now it's our turn to shine!" Dawn said as she released Buneary from her pokeball. Buneary gracefully came out of her ball with a couple of flips. "Ok buneary! Use ice beam on the stage." Buneary fired her ice beam on the stage creating a thin layer of ice. Buneary began to skate on the ice gracefully. "Ok, now use bounce to shatter that ice." Buneary's bounce shattered the ice and sent it into the air in a circular form. As Buneary soared in the air with the shattered ice, the light reflecting off of the ice sparkled all around Buneary as she ended her preformance with an elegant landing and a bow.

"Remarkable!" one of the judges said.

"Incredible!" said another.

"And now the judges will enter their score," the annoncer said. Dawn watched in anticipation as the dudges punched in their scores. "And Dawn recives a score 25.6!" The crowd erupted in cheer.

"Yay! You did great Buneary!" Dawn squealled and jumped in the air with joy, holding the bunny pokemon in her arms.

Back in the coordinator's locker room Ash and Brock were sitting with Dawn while Pikachu and Buneary were talking. "You did great Dawn," Ash congradulated. Brock nodded in agreement. Dawn was nervous.

"That was hard, I only just made it to the second round," Dawn said with a shakt voice.

"It's always hard the first time," Brock said. Ash nodded in agreement.

"I remember my first gym battle, I didn't have a clue as to what I was doing," Ash said while scratching the back of his head. "You'll do great!"

"Yeah, just give it your best!" Brock encouraged the distressed girl. Dawn nodded.

"So my first opponant is Zoey, who's Zoey?" Dawn asked.

"That would be me," a red head said as she approached the group. She wore a yellow jacket over a red sweater, and jeans with a pair of sneakers. Her hair was spiky and she had a confident look on her face. "I can't wait to battle, promise you'll give it your all?" Zoey asked holding out a hand. Dawn shook it.

"You bet!" she replied. The two of them nodded and waited for their battle, finally, when the announcer called their names, Dawn sat up. "Alright, lets get going!" Dawn said. "May the best coordinator win," Dawn said streching her hand out.

"No hard feelings, no matter how it ends," Zoey said shaking Dawn's hand. The two of them headed onto the stage, and took their places at opposite ends of the arena.

"This is a standard contest battle, you have five minutes to lower your opponent's points. If your pokemon is deemed unable to battle, you lose. At the end of the battle, the coodinator with the most points wins!" the announcer said. "Now, lets get this battle underway!"

"Buneary, it's your time to shine!" Dawn said calling out her bunny pokemon. Buneary gracfully made her entrence and landed on the stage to await her opponent. Dawn and Buneary were both nervous. '_Ok Dawn, just remember your training with Ash and Brock, and you'll get through this,'_ Dawn thought to herself.

"Alright, go Glameow!" Zoey said, calling out her cat pokemon. Glameow made just as gracful an appearance as Buneary did. Glameow wasn't nervous like Buneary was. "Let's start this match, Glameow, use tackle!"

Glameow began to charge at the bunny pokemon. "Buneay! dodge and use pound attack," Dawn ordered. Buneary dodged Glameow's tackle and successfully hit it with a pound attack, causing a drop in Zoey's points. "Great! now use bounce!"

"Not so fast, Glameow, get it with your quick attack!" Glameow hit Buneary with a very quick tackle, causing the bunny pokemon's attack to fail. Dawn's points dropped. "Finish it with iron tail!" Zoey said.

"Buneary! Bounce attack!" Dawn ordered. Glameow charged towards Buneary, with it's tail glowing whilte while Buneary prepared it's bounce attack. The two pokemon became inches apart when Glameow's iron tail attack scored a critical hit on Buneary, causing Dawn's points to drop by a large amount. The battle continued for a while until there was only a minute left. Dawn's points were low and Zoey's were at the fifty percent mark. '_Shoot! this is hard! How am I gonna win this?'_ Dawn thought to herself.

Both pokemon were tired but Buneary was about to drop. "Are you ok Buneary?" Dawn asked with concern. Buneary turned to look at her trainer.

"Bun Buneary!" it said confidently, but then fell to the ground, too exausted to continue. The buzzer rang from the judges table as all three of them hit the end buzzer.

"You did a great job Buneary, I'm proud of you, take a good long rest," Dawn said recalling the dazed pokemon. Dawn walked across the field forcing herself to hold back the tears that were building up behind her eyes. She shook Zoey's hand as a sign of good sportsman ship and walked into the coordinator's locker room. Dawn sat there crying on one of the bunches with Piplup in her arms. Piplup came out of it's ball when it felt it's trainer crying and has been trying to cheer her up. Dawn didn't even notice when Zoey came over.

"Hey Dawn, that was a great match! Are you ok?" she asked out of concern. Dawn nodded still crying. "Is this your first contest?"

"Yeah," was all Dawn could say. Zoey looked at the sad girl.

"Don't worry, it's always hard the first time, but you have more to learn from your mistakes and your loses than you do from victories," Zoey said trying to cheer Dawn up.

"She's right Dawn," Ash said making his way to the sobbing girl. "It's ok to lose somtimes, it just makes you better, trust me, I would know," Dawn looked at him with a puzzeled expression.

"Do you think I started off as a great cook? It took lots of practice and hard work," Brock said walking up besides Ash. Dawn's Piplup wiped Dawn's tears from her eyes.

"Pip piplup!" it said confidently. Dawn smiled at the small penguin pokemon and petted it.

"Your right guys, crying isn't gonna get me anywhere, I have to learn from my mistakes and improve myself for the next contest!" Dawn said, with her confidence returning.

"Thats the spirit!" Zoey said. "I hope you get better, cause I want to see you in my next contest for a rematch," Zoey said with a grin.

"You got it, but next time, I'm gonna be the winner!" Dawn said with a grin of her own. With that, Zoey went to wait in the locker room for her next match while Dawn decided to join Ash, Brock, and Pikachu in the stands. They watched the rest of the battles, each enjoying different aspects of them. Dawn was taking notes on how to improve herself, Ash was remembering being with May during her contests, and Brock was going gaga over the female coordinators.

As it turned out, Zoey lost in the semifinales to a coordinator from Snowpoint City and his Abomasnow. Although saddened by her defeat, Zoey kept a cheerful face. After the contest, they parted ways, Ash, Dawn, Brock, and Pikachu went off towards Canalave City to meet up with May, while zoey went off towards the next closest contest.

**Ok, that was a long chapter, If you read through all of it, thank you, if you have any comments or suggestions, please let me know,**

**R&R please!**

**next chapter:**

**Ash and May meet in Canalave City, Ash dosen't exactly warm up to Alex, and DAwn and Brock suspect somthing.**


	7. Reunion

**The Dark Reign of Cipher**

**Chapter 7**

Alex, May, Gardevoir, and Eevee were walking along a dirt road on their way to Olivine City. Not a single word was spoken to each other since breakfast, and May was beginning to feel uncomfortable.

"So who was your starter pokemon?" May asked Alex in hopes of starting a conversation to break the silence. Alex smiled, and without even looking at May he answered.

"My starter was Gardy over there," he said motioning towards Gardevoir, who smiled at him.

"I thought begginning trainers had to choose between a fire, water, and grass type for a starter," May stated.

"That's true, but I started my journey when I was five years old," Alex stated. May looked shocked.

'_Five years old! How could Ash and I have let him go when he was only five!?'_ May asked herself. "Why so early?" May asked him. For the first time since breakfast he turned towards her.

"Lets just say, I had a troubling childhood, and lets leave it at that," Alex replied, trying to fake a smile. May took that as a nicer way to say "Drop it and leave it alone." So May brought up another topic instead.

"So how did you and Gardevoir actually meet?" May asked. A real smile appeared on Alex's face, and a smile appeared on Gardevoir's face as well.

"Gardevoir has known me my entire life, ever since I was born," he said. May raised an eyebrow. "_I'm sure you remember the story better than I do,"_he said to his partner. She nodded in reply and raced through her memory to find the exact moment. As Gardevoir began to tell the story to May, Alex was reliving her memory through their link.

* * *

_May lay there, in a bed at the hospital. Next to her, holding one of her hands was Ash. On the other side was May's mother. Caroline was holding May's other hand. May was screaming out in pain as she was giving birth._

_"The baby is crowning," The doctor said. May squeezed Ash's hand to try and relieve herself from the stress, while yelling out in pain. "Just a little more, Miss Ketchum," The doctor told the girl on the bed. It was hard to tell if May heard him, she was still yelling out in pain. _

_"It's ok sweaty, your almost there," Caroline said trying to comfort her daughter. _

_"You can do it May," Ash said to his wife. "I know you can," he said trying to cover up the pain in his hand with a cheerful grin. _

_In the waiting room in a different part of the hospital wing, Max, Norman, and Delia could hear May's painful screams. "Wow, sounds like May is in pain," Max said plainly. Max was in his late teens and next to him was his Gallade. Norman's hair was beginning to have gray streaks running through it. Delia had more wrinkles on her face due to aging, other than that, she didn't change a bit since Ash left on his first journey. _

_"Max, you have no idea how much pain May is in right now," Delia said to the teen. Norman nodded, he didn't know how much pain May was in either, but he had a good idea. _

_"But is it worth it?" Max asked._

_"Of course it is!" Delia said. "Raising a family is one of the most serious, and enjoyable jobs in life." _

_"It can be stressful, but completely worth it," Norman nodded in agreement._

_A little farther into the waiting room, Pikachu and Blazekin were looking after the other pokemon. May's Skitty was racing around the room with Eevee, the two of them were trying to distract themselves from May's screams of pain. Munchlax was trying to cover its ears to drown out the sound. May's Kirlia was standing completely still for the first time since it evolved from a Ralts. It was staring down the hall where May was. The rest of their pokemon were back at Professor Oak's Lab._

_"Kirli?" Kirlia said as the screaming stopped. Everyone turned towards the emotion pokemon. She began dancing around the room, all eyes turning towards her. "Kirlia, kirli, kirlia!" she said as she started dancing down the hall. Pikachu, Max, Norman, and Delia all followed close behind._

_"Kirlia! wait!" Max said. Kirlia raced to May's room, and opened the door. She could barely reach the door knob. _

_"Kirlia? What are you doing here?" Caroline asked as she looked at the emotion pokemon staring happily at the baby in May's arms. _

_May and Ash were so interested in the small child in May's arms to even notice Kirlia entering the room. Kirlia's eyes started to water with happiness, and she began to glow white. The light began to make the baby cry, causing Ash and May to look around for the disturbance. at the same time they noticed the glowing pokemon. Max and the others just entered the room as they watched Kirlia evolve into a Gardevoir._

_"Gardevoir," It said as it stopped glowing. Everyone looked at it for a moment before turning their attention to the baby. The baby was still crying as May tried to rock it to sleep. The baby was still crying, and no amount of rocking or lullabies could make it stop. Gardevoir began to project peaceful images into the babies mind. The baby quickly fell asleep in its mother's arms._

_"Thank you Gardevoir," May said with a sigh of relief. Norman sat next to his wife and held her hands. The two of them smiled at each other and then turned to face their new grandchild. Ash had to switch his hand considering May unintentionally broke his other one. While a nurse was wrapping Ash's hand up, Delia stood behind her son with her hands on his shoulders. She was staring at the baby with pride. Max, who didn't exactly find the moment as interesting as the others did, was more focused on the newly evolved Gardevoir than his new nephew. _

_Pikachu jumped onto the bed and smelled the baby. Eevee, Pikachu's mate followed Pikachu's lead and sniffed the baby as well. The two pokemon looked at the new parents with proud faces before cuddling together with the baby._

_"I guess the pokemon like our son already, don't you think so May?" Ash asked May with a smile. May responded with a nod before turning to the baby in her arms.. _

_"Ash, what are we going to name him?" May asked her husband. Ash pondered the on the question for a little bit._

_"Honestly I don't know," Ash replied. "I didn't know if it would be a boy or a girl, so I didn't really give it much thought," Ash said while scratching the back of his head. Everybody dropped to the floor except for May, he sweat dropped._

_"Ash, sweaty, surly have thought of a name by now," Caroline said. _

_"You could always name him after his grandpa," Norman suggested._

_"What do you think May, do you have a good name?" Ash asked. May tapped her chin with one finger before snapping her fingers quietly. _

_"How about Alex?" May suggested. Ash nodded. "Ok, Alex Maple Ketchum it is!" May said with a smile. The Doctor began to write that on a clipboard and handed it to Ash and May._

_"I need both parents' signatures please," he stated. Ash signed first and then held it for May as she signed. "Thank you," he said as he left the room. They all continued to look at the baby, and didn't even notice how late it was getting until May and Max yawned almost at the same time. Eventually the doctor came back and told the group that the baby had to be taken over night so that it could be checked for any illnesses. May reluctantly let them take her baby away and Gardevoir watched the man go with every step. When the doctor came back he instructed that everyone should leave, except May who needed to rest. The others left, but Ash, Pikachu, Eevee, and Gardevoir all stayed behind. _

_"Excuse me sir, but I have to ask you to leave," the doctor said to Ash._

_"But doctor," Ash started. "She is my wife, can't stay?"_

_"Doctor, he won't cause any harm, I promise," May said. The doctor sighed, but allowed Ash to stay. The doctor left, leaving the two couples, Ash and May, and Pikachu and Eevee, along with Gardevoir alone. _

_May yawned again as she turned towards Ash. "Good night Ash, I love you," she said with a smile. The exhaustion was easy to spot on her face._

_"Good night May, I love you to," Ash replied. The two of them kissed before May fell asleep. Ash soon fell asleep as well, with his non-broken hand holding one of May's. Eevee and Pikachu were still cuddled up on May's lap._

_"Eevee, eve bui," Eevee told her mate while she gave him a good night lick._

_"Pika pikachu," Pikachu replied giving Eevee a good night lick as well._

_Gardevoir smiled to herself and sat down in one of the few chairs in the room, she easily fell asleep as well._

* * *

Alex was brought back to reality as Gardevoir finished the story. May smiled at Alex. "That's so sweet, so your mom's Kirlia evolved just so she could help take care of you? That's adorable!" May said.

"May, you can drop the charade, I know Gardevoir already told you," Alex said to May.

"W-what are you talking about," May lied, and an embarrassed blush streaked across her face. Alex gave her a skeptical look, and May eventually gave in. "So you were originally my little Ralts?" May asked Gardevoir.

"_Yup!'_ she simply replied.

"Wow, so what's the future like?" May asked.

"It's, different," Alex simply replied. May wasn't satisfied with his answer so she began ro ask more questions.

"What am I like in the future?" she asked. Alex looked at the ground and sighed. Gardevoir looked at him with a worried expression. "Well?" May asked, oblivious to the state of the boy.

"Where's the fun in the journey if you know how it's going to end?" Alex simply said. May agreed and let the subject go. Instead, she turned her attention back towards the road in front of them. The trees surrounding the road had many bug and bird pokemon. The pokemon continued with their daily lives as if the group of travelers weren't even there.

* * *

Ash, Brock and Dawn were already on their way to Canalave city. After the contest was over, they decided to part ways with Zoey and make their way towards their next destination. Ash was at least ten yards ahead of Brock and Dawn. Pikachu was on his shoulder, just as anxious to get to Canalave City.

"Come on you guys, hurry up!" Ash yelled to the two behind him.

"Relax Romeo, Juliet isn't going any where anytime soon," Dawn yelled back to him. Ash was about to snap at the blunette, but Brock intervened.

"Come on you guys, fighting isn't going to get us there any faster," Brock said.

"Brock, can we take a break?" Dawn asked.

"What!" Ash shouted.

"We've been walking for four hours!" Dawn yelled at him. "I want to take a break!" Ash mumbled under his breath, he knew it was a losing battle to argue with Dawn.

The quickly set up for their break. Brock began heating up some water for stew while Ash fed the pokemon. Dawn went to go collect firewood.

* * *

"So let me get this straight," Darious started. He was yelling at two peon soldiers. "You just watched them leave the city, and didn't even try to stop them!" Both soldiers looked at the ground in shame.

"Sir, we apologise, but even if we did engage, we wouldn't have been able to stop them," one of the soldiers said.

"Oh, care to explain that?" Darious asked. the soldiers gulped. "Well! I'm waiting!"

"We believe that the resistance member escorting target one was none other than their leader," the other soldier said quietly.

"What! That's impossible! I watched him die!" Darious gasped. "Drew! Harley!" Darious called to the two coordinators who just returned from the contest. Drew wasn't happy that May didn't show up.

'_That little bastard probably ran off with may over night, he's such a coward, leaving before we have a fair fight!'_Drew thought to himself as he and Harley walked over towards Darious. The first thing that Drew noticed was the furious, yet worried look on the man's face. "Yeah?" Drew asked.

"What was the name of the boy you two battled?" Darious demanded. Harley was taken back by the man's temper.

"His name was Alex, or something like that," Drew said as he flipped his hair. "Why?" he asked.

"And did he have a Gardevoir with him?" Darious asked, with a hint of panic in his voice.

"Yeah, and that thing is tough," Harley answered. Darious's eyes went wide as he spun his chair around so it was facing the screen. Darious tapped a few buttons on the arm rest of his chair, and the screen showed a man covered in a black cloak. Where his face should be was a white mask that had a moon and sun symbol on it.

"What is it Darious?" the man asked. Darious curled his hands into fists and rested his chin on his hands.

"I'm afraid that our little "friend" from the forest survived," Darious said in a serious voice.

"What! Darious! I will not stand for failure again! You will go and finish him once and for all! Then you shall meet me here at the excavation site, our plans will not go astray, do I make myself clear?" the man said rising to his feet.

"Yes, Grand Master," Darious replied. The screen went black and Darious sighed as he looked at the ground. Everyone looked at him. Then Naps walked up to him.

"Orders sir?" he asked Darious. A full minute passed before Darious replied.

"Prep for evac, we're going hunting," he ordered.

"Right away sir!" Naps said as turned and left. Drew and Harley looked at Darious with confused faces.

"Whats so bad about that punk?" Harley asked.

"He, is the one person who actually poses a critical threat to Cipher's grand design. Ever since we crossed paths with him, he has been nothing but a problem," Darious explained.

* * *

"Look! I can see Olivine City!" May said. The group could see the port city from a cliff. Although the city was in sight, it was still a long walk away. Gardevoir sighed.

"_My feet are killing me!"_ she complained to her partner.

"How about we take a break?" Alex suggested. May agreed with a nod and Gardevoir found the nearest rock and sat down with an exhausted sigh. Alex rolled his eyes at the two of them, and pulled his back pack off of his shoulders. He unzipped it and pulled out some berries for them to snack on. Eevee, smelling the berries, rushed over waiting for her berry with her tail wagging impatiently.

"Oh Eevee, your so predictable," May said with a slight giggle. Alex tossed her a berry as he fed one to the hungry Eevee. Then he pulled one out for himself and another for his partner as he sat down next to Gardevoir.

"So how much longer do you think it will take until we get ther?" May asked.

"I would say, maybe, a couple of hours?" Alex said. "Unless Gardevoir feels like teleporting," he said.

"_Is that a hint?"_Gardevoir asked her partner with a raised eyebrow. Alex smiled back at his partner. May looked hopeful at the thought of saving time. "_If you really want to, I guess we can just teleport,"_ she said with a sigh.

"Really! Yay!" May squealed and jumped in the air with joy. May quickly grabbed one of Gardevoir's hands with anticipation. Eevee was holding onto May's shoulder for dear life, expecting to be torn off. Alex and Gardevoir's sweat dropped at the scene.

"_Ok, ready?"_Gardevoir asked. May nodded impatiently while Alex took her other hand. As they teleported, May didn't feel as if a thing happened, and she didn't see anything because she shut her eyes.

"Um, May, you can open your eyes now," Alex said to her. May opened her eyes to find herself in the middle of Olivine City. She gasped at the sight, buildings surrounded her from all sides, and many of them were stores. The group made their way to the port and booked tickets to Sinnoh.

As they approached their boat, May was in awe. The ship was huge, it had to have been at least a mile long and a quarter mile tall. On the side of the ship, read _S.._ They quickly boarded because the ship was leaving soon. When they got to their room, it was exquisite, especially considering it was a cruise liner. The room had a red carpet, two beds and nice sized window with red grapes. There was a desk in one of the corners of the room, and a closet across the room. Next to the closet was the bathroom. In between the two beds was a night stand. Next to the door was a flat screened television.

Gardevoir walked over to one of the beds and laid down, claiming the bed in name of herself and her trainer. Eevee did like wise with the other bed for herself and May. Alex and May's sweat dropped.

* * *

"Ash, I know you want to see May, but do you think you could slow down a little bit?" Brock asked. Ash stopped and turned around. He found Dawn and Brock out of breath trying to catch up.

"What took you guys so long?" he asked as the other two joined him at his side.

"Hm, maybe it was the fact that you were practically running!" Dawn exclaimed. Brock nodded in agreement.

"Sorry guys, I just want to get there as soon as possible," Ash said. Dawn sighed and shook her head.

"We know that Ash, but we'll get there tomorrow," Brock said.

"And running half of the way doesn't help either!" Dawn yelled.

"Maybe we should set up camp, it's almost dark," Brock suggested. Dawn quickly agreed. Ash looked down at the ground in sadness. "Don't worry, you'll get there before May's ship arrives Ash," Brock comforted the young trainer.

"Yeah," Ash said depressingly.

"Pikachu pika pika pikachu chu pikachu," Pikachu said to his trainer. Ash smiled and looked the electric mouse on his shoulder.

"Thanks Pikachu," he said as he pet the electric mouse. Pikachu coed with delight. "Ok, I'll go get the fire wood," Ash suggested. Brock nodded and turned towards the fire that dawn was trying to start. Ash left the camp to go collect firewood. On his way into the woods, he could just barely make out the sound of rushing water. Ash followed the noise until he came upon a clearing.

There was a small pond with a tiny waterfall. The pond was surprisingly deep. There was a considerably good amount of water pokemon swimming in the water. Surrounding the pond were numerous amounts of trees, some one them holding ripe berries. While Pikachu went to go and inspect the berries, Ash had his attention drawn to the pokemon swimming in the pond.

"Wow," he said to himself. "There's so many," he said as he pulled out his pokedex. He opened it and pointed it towards one of the pokemon.

"Dratini, the dragon-snake pokemon, Dratini has long been thought of as a mythological pokemon until a colony of them was discovered under water," the pokedex said in a monotone voice.

"Dratini huh?" Ash said as he placed his pokedex back in his pocket.

"Dra?" a noise sounded from Ash's side. Ash jumped, the pokemon surprised him. Ash turned to see a very young Dratini. The baby dragon was about two feet long and had rounded wings on the side of its head.

"Hey there, you startled me for a second," Ash said as he pet the small dragon pokemon. The baby Dratini coed at his touch and began to snake it's way up his arm and wrapped its self around his shoulders. "You sure are friendly, you wanna come with us?" Ash asked the small dragon. Dratini's responce was nuzzling its head into his shoulder and falling asleep. "I'll take that as a yes," Ash said quietly. He found Pikachu snacking on a berry that he picked from a tree and got some firewood. He decided not to tell the others about the sleeping Dratini until they noticed it.

When Ash got back to camp, Brock was the first to notice, but he didn't say anything. Then after a few minutes, Dawn finally noticed.

"Um, Ash? What is that on your shoulder?" Dawn asked.

"It's a Dratini, and a young one at that," Brock answered her. Ash nodded in confirmation. "Where did you find it?" Brock asked Ash.

"Actually, it found me," Ash started with a chuckle. He told them about what happened. After his story Brock was the first one to speak up.

"Well, it seems as if Dratini thinks your its father," Brock said with a grin.

"Which makes May its mommy," Dawn said playfully with a large smile. Ash blushed, and then Dawn began to giggle, but it wasn't at Ash.

"What!?" Ash asked. Dawn only pointed towards his shoulder and continued to giggle. Ash turned towards his shoulder and his sweat dropped. There, resting on his shoulder, was a drooling Dratini. Brock let out a laugh, joining Dawn in laughter. At the sound of the noise, Dratini began to stir in its sleep until it woke up with a yawn.

"Tini?" it said as it looked around at its surroundings. It noticed Ash and started to rub its head against his cheek. Pikachu raced up Ash's shoulder and began to talk to the baby pokemon.

"There's no doubt, it thinks your its father, I'm sure of it. You better take good care of it Ash," Brock said. Ash nodded towards Brock.

"I think its hungry," Ash said as the Dratini began to nibble on Ash's hair. Dawn let out another giggle.

"Its so cute, I want a baby Dratini!" Dawn squealed as she walked over to pet it. When Dawn got too close Dratini looked at he cautiously as it tightened its grip around Ash's shoulder.

"Dratini," it cried cautiously. Dawn seemed taken aback, she didn't expect Dratini to be afraid of her. Brock tried to approach it with some baby pokemon food, but he got the same response.

"I guess your gonna have to feed it Ash," Brock said handing Ash the food. Ash nodded as he took the food and began to feed the baby dragon. The baby Dratini happily ate the food and coed with delight. Then it fell asleep, still wrapped around his shoulders. "I guess we should follow Dratini's example, I'm off to bed you guys, goodnight." With that Brock went into the tent and fell asleep.

"Yeah, I'm gonna go to bed too, night Ash!" Dawn said as she went to bed as well. Ash turned towards the stars. The only thing he could think of was May. The stars reminded him of her beautiful sapphire eyes.

'_I miss you so much May, I can't wait till tomorrow!'_he thought to himself before going to sleep as well. Pikachu followed his trainer, he would be on Ash's shoulder, but Dratini was already asleep there.

* * *

Alex and Gardevoir were both already fast asleep on their bed. Alex was resting in Gardevoir's arms while May watched them. Eevee was also fast asleep on her bed. May turned to look out the window. The stars reminded her of Ash and his deep auburn eyes. She pulled out her Terracotta Ribbon. '_I can't wait to see you again Ash, I miss you so much!'_ she thought to herself. She held the ribbon close to her chest. A single tear began to make its way down her cheek before it was wiped by a brown furry tail.

"Eve?" Eevee asked. While May was gazing at the starts, Eevee made her way to the window seal to be with her trainer. May smiled at the fox pokemon and put the ribbon away.

"I'm fine Eevee, lets go to bed," May suggested as she picked Eevee up in her arms and went to bed. As soon as she laid on the bed, sleep seemed to have taken over.

* * *

Ash was the first one to wake up. He looked to his side and found Pikachu and Dratini sleeping close by. Ash quietly got up and left the tent, leaving the others to sleep. '_May arrives today! We have to hurry!'_Ash thought to himself as he felt all of his excitement and happiness bouble up inside of him. Pikachu came and sat next to him.

"Pika? Pikachu?" Pikachu asked its partner.

"I'm so excited about seeing May for the first time since she left for Johto, I can't wait!"

"Pikapi pii pikachu," Pikachu added.

"Of course, how could I forget Eevee," Ash replied. Pikachu nodded, and Ash began to pet his partner. Brock came out next.

"Huh? Ash, what are you doing up so early?" he asked the boy and his Pikachu.

"Too tired to sleep, I want to get to Canalave City as soon as possible," Ash replied.

"Well, all we're waiting for is Dawn, and Dratini to wake up, and then we have to eat breakfast, and we'll be all set to go!" Brock said as he started a fire to cook breakfast. " Besides, Canalave City is only a few hours away, it won't take us long to get there." Ash sighed, but not even a second later, he heard some quiet cries. "I think that's Dratini," Brock said as Ash went to go and inspect the disturbance.

"Ash! Your Dratini is crying!" they heard Dawn yell.

"I guess that's your cue," Brock said.

"Yup," Ash replied. As Ash walked in, a tired looking Dawn came out mumbling something under her breath.

"Sleep well Dawn?" Brock asked.

"No! It's that Dratini! First it won't let me pet it, and now it wakes me up early in the morning!" Dawn yelled out. She sat down with a sigh as Brock handed her breakfast, which she accepted.

"It's just because its still young, it probably only feels safe with Ash," Brock said.

"Why only him?" Dawn asked. "I'm not scary!"

"It's possible, that Dratini just hatched and the first person it saw was Ash," Brock replied.

"So?"

"A new born pokemon believes that the first person or pokemon it sees is it's parent. So it must have just hatched from it's egg when it saw Ash," Brock explained.

"That makes sense I guess, but why would it be afraid of me?"

"Probably the same reason it was afraid of me."

"And that would be?"

"I don't know, it was probably just startled."

"Well, if it tasted your cooking it wouldn't have anything to worry about," Ash said as he stepped out of the tent with Dratini curled up in his arms and Pikachu on his shoulder. "Sorry if Dratini woke you up Dawn," Ash apologised.

Seeing the cute little baby Dratini curled up in Ash's arms was too much for Dawn. "Awe, I can stay mad at such a little cutie," Dawn said in a baby voice.

"Brock, do you have anymore baby pokemon food?" Ash asked Brock. Brock nodded and handed him a bottle and a spoon. As Ash began to feed the baby pokemon, Brock fed the others. When the pokemon had their fill, Ash and Brock turned and ate their own breakfast.

After Breakfast, the group continued to make their way to Canalave City to meet up with May. To keep Dratini busy, Pikachu was letting it play with his tail. It didn't hurt Pikachu at all, seeing as how Dratini wasn't teething yet. With every step they took, Ash's excitement was building

* * *

"Attention passengers, we will be arriving at Canalave City in just a few hours, please be sure to have all of your belongings, and thank you for riding the _S.," _the loud speaker said.

"Yay!" Dawn shouted, startling Eevee. Eevee jumped up and landed on the floor with a loud thud. "Oh! I'm sorry Eevee," May said pulling Eevee into a tight hug. Eevee coed with delight as she enjoyed the embrace.

"Good morning," Alex said with a yawn as he started to rub the sand out of his eyes. "Are we there yet?" he asked May.

"We will be in a couple of hours," May answered.

"Really? well, I guess i better get ready for the day then," Alex said . Gardevoir stirred in her sleep. "_Good Morning!" _Alex said to the embrace pokemon.

"_It's morning already?"_Gardevoir responded with a sigh. Alex gave her a smile, and she rose out of bed.

"I'm gonna hop in the shower, ok?" May said as she made her way towards the bathroom with Eevee. Alex responded with a nod. May shut the door behind her.

"_Breakfast?" _Alex suggested, handing Gardevoir one of the last remaining berries in his backpack. She took it and began to eat silently. Alex pulled out the other one and began to eat it.

"_Your nervous," _Gardevoir stated. Alex turned to look at her.

"_Last time I saw my dad was when I was five, it's been so long, well actually I haven't even been born yet, so it's not like he'll know me, but still. Yeah, I am nervous," _Alex responded. Gardevoir smiled and put hand on his shoulder.

"_Don't worry, everything will be fine,"_she tried to comfort him. He gave her a skeptical look.

"_Are you sure? I can't help but feel that something bad is about to happen."_

_"It will be fine, stop worrying, you'll give yourself wrinkles." _Alex laughed at what she said. Wrinkles were the least of his worries. Gardevoir sighed and mingled her mind with his, and began to remove the worry and stress from his mind, or at least she tried to. "_There, feel better?"_

"_A little, thanks," _Alex responded. "_Today is going to be interesting,"_he said with a laugh. Gardevoir gave him a giggle.

"_Only if things get a little crazy,"_ she said with a straight face.

* * *

"Look you guys! It's Canalave City!" Ash yelled excitedly. Pikachu looked as excited as Ash did. Dratini seemed to be out of it, not knowing why Ash and Pikachu were so excited. It turned its head to its side. "Don't worry little guy," Ash said as he petted the baby Dratini.

"Well, if we're going to get there before May dose then we gotta go," Brock said. Ash nodded and began to walk faster down the road.

"I can't wait to meet May," Dawn said as she tried to catch up. Eventually the group reached the city, But Ash and Pikachu were not interested in the sights. "Wow, this place is amazing!" Dawn exclaimed.

"Come on, the dock is over here!" Ash yelled to Brock and Dawn. Dawn sighed and Brock shook his head.

"That's Ash for you, a one track mind," Brock said.

"Isn't that the truth," Dawn said with a giggle. The group slowly worked their way to the docks where a ship could be seen making its final approach into the harbor. Ash's heart did somersaults in his chest as he saw May waving to him. Eevee sat on her shoulders and was patiently waiting to get off of the boat. As the ship docked and the boarding ramp was lowered, Ash and May ran towards each other.

"Ash! I've missed you so much!" May said to Ash as she ran up and hugged him.

"I've missed you to May, but I'm glad your here," Ash said back to her. The two shared a passionate kiss. When Ash and May embraced each other, they accidentally knocked Eevee and Pikachu off of their perspective shoulders, and crushed a baby Dratini in between the two of them.

"(are you ok Eevee?)" Pikachu said to Eevee after the two of them fell on the ground.

"(Yeah, I'm fine)," Eevee replied. The two got up off of the ground and waited for their trainers to break their embrace. Then Pikachu remembered the baby Dratini and began to look around to see if it fell down with them.

"(Dratini? Dratini?)" Pikachu said as he began looking around. Eevee looked puzzled. "(On our way here...)" Pikachu started to explain, but somthing cut him off.

"Dratini!" the baby pokemon cried as it was trapped in between Ash and May. May broke contact with a large blush on her face.

"Hello there you little cutie," May said as she noticed the baby Dratini.

"Careful May, it won't let anyone other than Ash touch it," Brock said as he and Dawn caught up to the couple. May didn't seem to hear him as she went to pet the dragon snake. Unlike with Brock and Dawn, the baby pokemon welcomed May's touch and coed happily as she pet it.

"That is so not fair!" Dawn yelled, startling everyone near bye. Ash and May's sweat dropped and Brock face palmed. "It wouldn't let me or Brock touch it, but it lets her!?" Dawn mumbled to herself, but everyone could hear her.

"Um, Ash? Who is this?" May asked Ash.

"Right, I forgot," Ash said as he scratched the back of his head. "May, this is Dawn, she is aspiring to become a pokemon coordinator just like you," Ash said, introducing Dawn.

"Wow, its _the_ May Maple! I'm a big fan," Dawn said shaking her hand.

"Um, thanks," May replied nervously.

"And of course you know Brock," Ash said motioning towards Brock.

"Of course, how could I forget Brock and his delicious cooking," May said shaking Brock's hand.

"Nice to see you to," Brock said to May.

At that moment, Ash, Dawn, and Brock noticed two more figures approaching them. One of them was a Gardevoir while the other looked similar to Ash except that he had brown hair and blue eyes. Then May noticed the two of them approaching. "Ash, Dawn, Brock, I want you to meet Alex and Gardevoir," May said introducing the two figures.

"Nice to meet you," Ash said extending his hand. Alex took it and shook it. Gardevoir walked next to her trainer and smiled at the others.

"Hey Brock, do you notice anything strange about the two of them," Dawn whispered to Brock.

"Yeah, I do as a matter of fact," Brock whispered back. "Alex and Ash look almost the same, except.." Brock started.

"He also kinda looks like May," Dawn finished. Brock nodded in agreement.

Ash, May, and Alex's stomachs all growled at the same time. "Maybe we should get something to eat," one of them suggested. Dawn and Brock's sweat dropped.

"Yeah, there's definitely something between the three of them," Dawn said. "But that can wait till after lunch." The group made their way to go and find some food.

* * *

**well, theres chapter 7 suggestions and comments are always welcome. please review, input is always nice....**

**next chapter: Cipher makes it's presence known and Alex fills May and Ash in on why he is really there. Dawn and Brock catch on to Alex's secret, but promise not to tell.**


	8. Friends and Foes

**The Dark Reign of Cipher**

**Chapter 8**

Alex, Ash, Brock, Dawn, Eevee, Gardevoir, May, and Pikachu were all making their way down the streets of Canalave City looking for a good place to eat. Ash and May were right next to each other talking about their separate trips to the city. Alex and Gardevoir walked side by side, the two of them were inseparable, as everyone had noticed, and they were right behind May and Ash. Dawn and Brock were in the back of the group, talking quietly amongst themselves. Pikachu was resting on one of Ash's shoulders, while Eevee was resting on one of May's shoulders. In May's hands was the baby Dratini, which was fast asleep. The city was very busy, and the streets were lined with shops and restaurants. The problem that the group was facing was that they couldn't decide on a place to eat.

"Ok guys, I'm pretty sure we've been down this street at least three times now, so if we're going to pick some where lets do it quick," Brock said. The group all nodded in agreement, and eventually decided on a buffet. "Well, I guess seeing as how it is a special day for Ash and May, this place seems perfect," Brock said as the new couple smiled lovingly at each other. The group then entered the building. The restaurant was very busy and had many beautiful cultural paintings on the wall. The restaurant was playing oriental music to add to the cultural illusion. The group sat down at a large round table. Ash sat next to May, who sat next to Dawn, who sat next to Brock, who sat next to Gardevoir, who sat next to Alex, who sat next to Ash. As soon as they ordered their drinks they got up to go get their food.

Brock and Dawn were the first to return, having gotten a normal amount of food on their plates and began to eat in a normal fashion. They had a combination of vegetables and meats. Alex and Gardevoir were next to return, Alex had a large amount of food on his plate while Gardevoir had a normal amount of food. While Alex had meats and vegetables, Gardevoir only had fruits and vegetables. Last of all, Ash and May returned with mountains of food on their plates. Eevee and Pikachu each had their trainers get them a plate of pokemon food, two which they enjoyed. Dratini was being hand fed by Ash while May held it on her lap.

"This little baby is so cute isn't he?" May said in a baby voice.

"She," Alex corrected May. Everyone except Brock and the other pokemon looked at Alex with confused faces. "You can tell by the wings on their heads," Alex began to explain in between mouth fulls. "If the wings are pointy, it's a boy, but if they're rounded, it's a girl."

"Thats right," Brock confirmed. "How did you know that?" Brock asked.

"I grew up with pokemon, and I picked up a few things from family and friends," Alex said. Ash continued to feed the baby dragon until it had its full and fell asleep lazily on May's lap.

"So tell us about yourself," Dawn said to Alex. "I mean, we all know each other, except for you, your new to the gang."

"_Um, what should I say?"_Alex asked his partner for advice. After a few moments, everyone was looking at him expectantly while he waited for Gardevoir's advice. "_Gardy?"_After a few more seconds, Gardevoir finally responded.

"_Fake amnesia, say you only remember what happened since you woke up in Goldenrod City,"_Gardevoir explained. While everyone thought that he was just stalling for time, May knew he was talking to his pokemon partner. Alex followed his partner's advice and said he only remembered what happened since he met May. Dawn didn't buy it.

"Oh man, I have to go to the bathroom, you coming May?" Dawn said as she got up and dragged May off to the bathroom. Before May was dragged away completely, she handed Dratini over to Ash. Ash set Dratini down so that Pikachu could look after him.

"Ok Dawn, what is it?" May asked as she was forced into the bathroom. Dawn sighed before she revealed her intentions.

"Ok, me and Brock both know there is something up with Alex, and I'm pretty sure you know what it is," Dawn said. May tried to act confused. "Don't even try that," Dawn warned May. "He looks almost like a spitting image of Ash and they have similar traits."

"Like what?"

"Well, they both know alot about pokemon, they are inseparable from their pokemon, and they have the same eating habbits," Dawn said. She turned to face May. "Admit it, you know something that we don't!"

May sighed. "Fine, I'll tell you, but you have to promise to keep it a secret!"

"Ok!"

"I mean it Dawn," May said menacingly.

"No need to worry, I'll be as silent as a Mr. Mime!"

* * *

While the two girls went into the bathroom, the others continued their conversations. However, next to the table that the trainers were at, two pokemon were looking after the infant Dratini.

"(So tell me again Pikachu, exactly how did you come across this little one?)" Eevee asked Pikachu. Pikachu blushed, but quickly shook it off, unfortunately for him, Eevee noticed his blush and began to blush as well.

"(Well, she acually found us,)" Pikachu started. Eevee raised an eyebrow, so Pikachu began to tell Eevee the whole story, from his perspective.

* * *

"I knew it!" Dawn squealed. May's sweat dropped as Dawn struck a victorious pose. "I knew you were related some how, but to think he's your son! Does Ash know?" Dawn asked May.

"No, and you shouldn't know either, but remember Dawn, you promised!" May reminded Dawn.

"What if I had my fingers crossed," Dawn said with a smirk. May put on her scariest face that she could muster up.

"What if I rip your tongue out so you can't talk?" May bluffed. Dawn covered her mouth with her hands after hearing May's bluff. This caused May to laugh, then Dawn realised that May was just bluffing. "Seriously Dawn, don't tell anyone!"

"Fine," Dawn said with a sigh. "Lets get back to the others," Dawn said as she turned to leave. May wasn't far behind. As soon as the two of them rejoined the rest of their group, they found that they missed a "Who's pokemon is better" debates. Needless to say, Ash and Alex were at each other's throats. Gardevoir was trying her best to keep Alex back, while Brock was doing the same to Ash. Even from several feet away, May and Dawn could see the sparks flying between the two trainers.

"Woah woah woah, easy boys," May tried to calm the two sparked trainers, but to no avail.

"I'm pretty sure that if we battled right now, I'd beat you hands down!" Alex jeered. Ash took the bait.

"Is that a challenge!?" Ash yelled.

"Maybe it is, unless to afraid,"

May turned to Gardevoir. "_How did this happen?"_May asked her. Gardevoir sighed.

"_It started with Brock saying how I seemed to be well taken care of, and Alex said that he takes care of all pokemon, then Ash said he took care of his better. Before we knew it, this happened," _Gardevoir replied, still trying to hold Alex back.

"Your on!" Ash yelled.

* * *

"(This can't be good,)" Pikachu said with a sigh. "(Come on Dratini, lets go,)" Pikachu said as he woke Dratini up.

"(Don't worry about her, I'll take care of it,)" Eevee said, trying to hide her deep blush with a cheery smile.

"(Thanks Eevee, that really helps,)" Pikachu said trying to hide his blush. Eevee noticed his blush which just made her blush even more.

"(well, lets go before our trainers leave us here,)" Eevee said after returning from cloud nine.

* * *

The group paid for their meal and found a clearing at the city park for a short battle. "This will be a one on one battle, no substitutions, I will be the judge of this match," Brock said making his way between the two trainers. "Both trainers, please release your pokemon."

"Go Dragonite!" Alex said as he threw Dragonite's pokeball into the air. The large dragon type emerged from the pokeball and landed on the ground. "I hope you don't mind if I use Dragonite, Gardy isn't a battler," Alex explained.

"No problem with me!" Ash said with a smirk. "Ready Pikachu?" Ash asked his partner. Pikachu proudly ran up to face the dragon pokemon. Pikachu stopped about ten yards in front of Ash with his cheeks sparking.

"First move is yours Ash," Alex said.

'_Last time we faced a Dragonite was back in the Orange League, I wonder if this will be any different,'_Ash thought to himself. "Ok Pikachu, lets start this off with a shock, use thunderbolt!" Ash ordered. Pikachu launched a powerful bolt of electricity towards the dragon type.

"Dragonite! Use thunder wave!" Alex retaliated. Dragonite fired an electrical ring which canceled out the thunderbolt attack. "Now use iron tail!" Dragonite's tail began to glow as it made its way over to Pikachu.

"Pikachu! use your own iron tail to block it!" Ash commanded. Pikachu charged its iron tail and charged the Dragonite. The two attacks collided causing an explosion.

* * *

About several miles away, a formation of large helicopters were closing in on Canalave City. "Sir! We're on final approach to the city!" One of the piolets called out.

"Good, we can refuel and continue our search," Darious said. Drew and Harley were sitting nearby Darious. At least a dozen foot soldiers were also seating on that helicopter. The formation consisted of twelve helicopters.

"Sir! A report from the lead chopper, there seems to a battle going on in the landing zone,"

"Can you identify the combatants?" Darious asked the pilot.

"They say it is the boy and Ketchum, what do you want us to do?"

Darious activated a com link. "All units, prepare to engage, repeat, prepare to engage!" Darious ordered into the com link. Then Darious turned towards Harley and Drew. "You two find Ash and May, bring them to me, I'll deal with the pest!"

"Why do you want those two?" Drew asked curiously.

"Orders," was all that Darious replied. Over the duration of their time together, Drew and Harley came to respect and fear Darious.

"Contact in two minutes!" a piolet said.

"Naps! open fire!" Darious ordered Naps. Naps nodded and sent out his Ursaring.

"Ursaring, hyper beam attack," he ordered his large bear pokemon. The Ursaring unleashed a large orange beam of energy at the battlers below.

* * *

"_This is just going to end in a stalemate," _Gardevoir said with a sigh as she turned her attention away from the battle to the sky above them. She immediatly cupped her mouth in horror as she say a beam of energy shooting directly at her trainer. "_Alex! Look out!"_ She yelled at her trainer. Alex looked at her confused just before it hit the ground next to him. The explosion sent the boy flying a few yards back, with minor cuts and scrapes.

The battle was officially over as the group turned towards the sky to see the attackers. They saw twelve large helicopters coming towards them. Alex and Gardevoir immediately noticed the symbol on the nose of the vehicles. A scornful look appeared on Alex's face "_Gardy, please, you have to get Ash, May, and the others out of here!"_Alex said to his partner as he pulled out two timerballs from his belt.

"_What about you?"_ she asked him, concern in her voice.

"_I'll be fine, just get them out of here!"_Alex responded. His answer saddened the embrace pokemon, but she understood where he was coming from. She obeyed, even though she knew Alex had a feeling it would get ugly. Gardevoir turned towards everyone else and used her psychic powers to bring everyone else together. Alex released the pokemon in the timerballs. "Latios, Latias, I want you two to go with Gardevoir and make sure they stay safe.

Gardevoir and the two eon dragons all teleported the others to safety while Alex and Dragonite turned to face their attackers. "Ready Dragonite?" Alex asked his dragon pokemon. Dragonite nodded. The two waited as three of the helicopters landed not to far away. Darious, and three dozen foot soldiers approached the two of them.

"Tell me boy, how do you always manage to survive? I must have seen you sustain fatal injuries at least twelve times, yet here you are. Whats your secret?" Darious asked as his grunts surrounded Alex.

"Just lucky I guess," Alex replied. Darious glared at the boy.

"Well, now I'm going to stay until my work is finished, you may be an excellent battler, but you can't take on all of us. Not all at once," Darious said confidently.

"Watch me," Alex said. Darious and his grunts all released their pokemon, while Alex and Dragonite braced for a deadly battle.

* * *

Latios and Latias turned invisible as they and Gardevoir teleported Ash, May, Brock, Dawn, and their pokemon to a cave that overlooks the city. The cave was large and had a lot of space. The cave entrance came out of the face of a cliff. The group could see the city in the distance, as well as the helicopters flying around.

"What's the big idea?" Ash asked. "What's going on?"

Gardevoir slumped back into one of the cave walls. she was tired after teleporting so many people. after a few moments of catching her breath, she answered Ash's questions. "_That was a deliberate attack, and you were all in danger, Alex just stepped up to face them for you," _Gardevoir began to explain to the group. Ash was about to protest, but he was cut off. "_Before you even suggest that you can take them, understand this, we are not from this time, we actually came from the future, and that future is a horrible place. The world has been torn in half by a war that has been going on for seventeen years. Ever since he was born, his life has been one on the run. As a member of the resistance, Cipher has vowed to kill him, and all those he holds dear."_

May felt a pang in her heart. '_That's what he meant by "a troubled childhood" I never knew,'_ she thought to herself. Her hands began to shake, which Ash noticed and he tried to calm his girlfriend down.

"Are you ok May?" Ash asked May in concern. Ash saw a tear slide down May's cheek. He held her tightly while she began to cry into his chest. "Shh, it's ok May,"

Dawn, who wasn't too far away from Dawn felt sorry for May. '_Poor girl, her son is risking his life for us,'_ Dawn thought to herself.

"So what's the resistance?" Brock asked.

"_When Cipher attacked, they knocked out the pokemon leagues, leaving no formal opposition to their conquering, but a few brave trainers stepped up and formed a resistance to Cipher. The resistance began to slow down Cipher's invasion and eventually fought them to a stand still. Then, Cipher got bold and tried to alter the course of history by coming back in time and eliminating the key members of the resistance before it is even formed," _Gardevoir said to the group even though she hadn't taken her eyes off of the city in the distance. Then she turned to the others. "_Ever since he was born into the resistance, Alex has been hunted, I still find it astounding that he finds the courage to continue each day with a positive attitude. Even with all of the times he has almost died." _This almost caused May to fall apart.

A large explosion in the city took everyone's attention. Brock saw the Gardevoir start to shake. "Are you ok?" he asked the embrace pokemon. She continued to shake.

"_I'm worried about him. What if he needs me? What if he's hurt? We've had plenty of close calls before, but every single time I was there to get him out of trouble just before it's too late. If I'm not there, he could die," _Gardevoir said with a scared voice as she began pacing back and forth. The thought of her trainer dying began to haunt her mind. She desperately tried to shake the thought out of her mind while tears began to build up in her eyes.

* * *

Drew sat there with Harley, inside the helicopter. They could watch as Alex and his Dragonite were struggling to battle all of the Cipher soldiers and Darious. Eventually Alex's Dragonite grew too tired and was unable to keep up. Drew could hear Darious speak as he signaled the others to stop attacking.

Alex was covered in dirt and had several cuts and scrapes. The field had numerous craters and blast marks. "Ah, it seems as though your Gardevoir isn't here to save you this time, so now, its time to die!" Darious said signaling his Salamence to finish Alex off. What nobody saw was that when Alex recalled his Dragonite, he pulled out a masterball from his belt.

"Salamence! Hyper beam attack!" Darious commanded. As soon as Salamence began charging it's hyper beam, Alex threw the master ball. Drew and Harley sat there, dumbfounded by what they saw emerge from the ball. A loud ear shattering roar could be heard for miles as the large pokemon began to crush all of its foes. Darious and his grunts had to back off, they couldn't beat this legendary dragon. The large, green, snake like dragon lowered its head so that it was face to face with Darious.

"And who says I need saving?" Alex said. "This battle is just starting, Cipher will fall Darious, you cannot keep denying that."

"We'll just see about that! Men! Fall back!" Darious ordered. The soldiers ran back to the choppers and began to board them. "We'll continue this later," he spat to Alex before departing. Alex only scowled as the man escaped.

* * *

After hearing Rayquaza's roar, Everyone was standing at the edge of the cave. They watched the helicopters take off. "_He summoned Rayquaza, there must be trouble! I'm sorry, but I have to go get him,"_Gardevoir said to the group inside the cave. They nodded in understanding, so she teleported out of the cave. Brock turned towards Dawn and the two of them walked deeper into the cave.

"So did you find anything out?" Brock asked Dawn. Dawn nodded and began to whispered what she learned into Brock's ear. "Ha! I knew somthing was up!" Brock said with a large grin on his face.

"But don't let May find out I told you, and you cannot tell Ash, no matter what!" Dawn pressured him. Brock nodded in understanding.

Mean while, back near the cave entrance, May's crying began to slow down. "You feel better May?" Ash asked. May nodded and snuggled into Ash's chest peacefully. Then Ash rested his head on May's and the two of them sat there together, as peaceful as could be. They didn't even notice Brock and Dawn snickering at the two of them as they returned.

* * *

Gardevoir appeared in the middle of the city. She looked around at the destruction in the park and the surrounding buildings. There was still a large cloud of dust surrounding the area. There were several craters and numerous scorch marks. Even though she looked around, she couldn't find any sign of her trainer. She began to worry even more, then she saw what looked like a giant green snake hovering around a boy.

The boy had many bruises and scrapes, but none were too serious. He had a look of worry on his face. When he noticed Gardevoir approaching, he turned to face her. "_I hate it when I'm right,"_he said to her. She sighed with relief seeing the boy safe.

"_It wasn't your fault, even if you never intervened in their affairs, they would have murdered everyone anyway,"_Gardevoir said to the boy as she went up and hugged him. "_At least your safe!"_Alex gave her a weak smile as he flipped a hidden switch on his poketch.

"_Maybe we should head back, I bet we've got some explaining to do,"_Alex said while he returned Rayquaza to it's masterball. Gardevoir nodded and placed an arm on his shoulder. The two of them teleported back to the cave, and Alex was paralyzed by the looks he was getting.

"What?" he asked innocently. Gardevoir began to heal his wounds while Brock attempted to clean them. Ash and May were the first ones to speak.

"So what was that all about?" May asked.

"And why did you want us out of the way?" Ash added.

"Well, I guess the Meowth is out of the bag now. I am an agent of the resistance, and I actually ended up here in this time by accident. Celebi made a time jump in order to try and save me, which is when May found me," Alex started to explain.

"Right, but what was with the whole, "Get us out of the way" thing?" Dawn asked.

"Before I slipped unconscious, I heard one of Cipher's administrators mention knocking out the resistance before it was formed. So I had a hunch that they would strike soon, so I hoped to tag along with May, to make sure that nothing bad happened. Unfortunately, my hunch was right, and now here we are," Alex continued before a stinging sensation shot through his arm. "Ah! that stings!" he hissed as Brock continued to clean the wounds that Gardevoir had not healed yet.

"So you wanted us here so that we didn't get in the way?" Brock asked.

"Yes and no," Alex replied. Brock looked at him with a puzzled expression. "I wouldn't you guys here, so that you would be safe, in case I failed. Thats why I sent Latios and Latias with you." At the sound of their names, the two eon dragons turned visible and began to fly around. Latias was as energetic as ever, and she zoomed around the cave playfully.

"Latios? Latias? I thought they lived at Altomare," Ash said as he watched the two eon dragons. Alex nodded.

"They did, until they decided to come with me," Alex explained.

"I haven't seen these guys in over two years," Ash said as Latios landed near the trainers.

They conversation ended as a large flashing light filled the cave, everyone closed their eyes to avoid the glare. When the glare subsided, five additional people were present in the cave. One of then seemed to be in their mid twenties, and had dark blue hair, and the glares from his glasses seemed to cover up his eyes. He wore a dark green long sleeved shirt and baggy jeans. He had a pokeball ready in his hands.

Another man had spiky brown hair. He wore a large baggy purple long sleeved shirt and black pants. In his hands was a pokeball at the ready. Next to him was a women with long blue hair and navy blue eyes. She wore a black t-shirt with a black skirt. She had a red scarf around her neck, and like the others, also had a pokeball at the ready.

Next to that couple, Another group, one with dark green hair, A light green t-shirt and orange cargo pants stood next to a women with orange hair and cerulean eyes. She wore a yellow tank top and jeans. All five of the trainers had their backs together to form a circle, ready to battle.

"Its ok guys, stand down," Alex said. The group relaxed and broke the circle and began to look around. Celebi, who was hidden in the middle of the circle flew over and relaxed on Alex's head. "Hey Celebi, nice to see you to," Alex said to the small green bug pokemon.

"Max, Gary, Dawn, Tracy, Misty, thanks for coming," Alex said to the new arrivals. "I'm glad to know you guys have been waiting for me in case I needed help," Alex said with a smile. The others looked dumbfounded at the new arrivals.

"M-Max?" May stuttered. Max turned to face his sister.

"Hey May," he said with a smile. May fainted and landed in Ash's arms. Dawn was staring at the older version of herself. Then she noticed the ring on her finger, and the matching one on Gary's hand, Dawn squealed with joy. Alex stood up and approached the older trainers.

"So, how are things back home?" Alex asked.

"Well, actually, things have been quite odd. Cipher's aggression has greatly increased, its like they're disappearing," Gary started.

"They're not disappearing, they're coming back in time, I just had a brush with a group of them. They seemed to be going some where, but didn't hesitate to stop and fight," Alex stated. Gary was lost deep in thought and his wife looked concerned.

"What do you suppose they're doing?" the older Dawn asked. Alex looked at her, but Gardevoir answered.

"_Other than hunting key resistance members, we don't know," _the embrace pokemon said. "_The most important thing to do right now is to gather all the key resistance members and get them some where safe."_ Alex agreed with her, as did the others. Ash, May, Brock, and the younger Dawn were all confused.

"Max, go get yourself and your parents, Misty, yourself and your sisters, Tracy and Gary, you guys go get yourselves and Professor Oak and Delia, and Dawn, you go after your mom," Alex ordered. "Meet back here in a day, if you run into any trouble, let me know." The others nodded before breaking apart and left.

* * *

"Drew! Harley! Congratulations, your officially members of Cipher!" Darious told them as the helicopters landed at their final destination. As Darious exited the lead helicopter, he walked down a row of soldiers. They seemed to be expecting him, or some one more important.

"There are so many of them," Harley said as he and Drew followed Darious. The other soldiers followed behind them. The soldiers as silent as the grave, as if something terrible happened. At the end of the column of soldiers was a hooded and cloaked man. He wore a mask with a moon and sun symbol on it, and he had black gloves.

"Grand Master," Darious said to the cloacked man as he kneeled before him.

"Rise Darious," the figure said. Darious got back on his feet and proceeded to walk with his superior. They began to talk about their plans, which didn't appeal all that much to Drew and Harley.

"So when do we get to super power our pokemon so I can win May's heart?" Drew asked hastily. The Grand Master laughed.

"Soon," was all that the man said to Drew. "Now Darious, I expect you delt with the whelp, right?" he said to Darious. Darious didn't answer, which caused the Grand Master to snarl. "Darious, I guess this time I have to fix your mistake, now tell me, what is your excuse?"

"The boy had his Rayquaza with him, and it's just as powerful as it was last time," Darious explained.

That caused the Grand Master to laugh. "Ah, yes, I remember the first time we had a run in with that, it destroyed half of Goldenrod City in its outrage. So he finally tamed the beast?" he asked Darious. Darious responded with a nod. "Well, this will be fun, let us go. Guards! Escort Drew and Harley to their rooms and make sure they're comfortable," the Grand Master said to the large soldiers with yellow scarves.

The guards began to escort Drew and Harley into a large campsite. "Where are we anyway?" Drew asked. The guards didn't even turn to face them when they answered.

"Your at Cipher's base camp, several miles from the base of Mount Coronet," a guard answered. Drew looked up to see the large mountain in the distance. Harley looked up to the mountain as well.

"Isn't that a wondrous sight?" Harley said to no one in particular. In the distance they could hear a few helicopters taking off, then the large group of soldiers broke apart as everyone returned to their posts. "So how big is the camp?"

"It stretches from here, all the way to the dig site several miles under the mountain," the guard said. "There are about five hundred thousand soldiers here, if the resistance gets bold enough to strike, we'll be ready." Eventually, Harley and Drew arrived at their accommodations, which were much nicer than their previous rooms. These rooms had windows, a dresser, a closet, a mirror, and even a television, including the beds and bathrooms. "Enjoy yourselves, dinner will be brought to you, just don't leave your rooms," the guards said sternly. Drew and Harley nodded, and the guards left.

* * *

**there is chapter 8, as you can see, Cipher has made itself known. Drew and Harley still have no idea what they are getting into,** **and the resistance is on the move.**

**in the next chapter: Everyone regroups at the cave just in time to be ambushed by Cipher's army, personally led by the Grand Master, Ash, May, and the gang see the resistance head quarters, and everybody learns a bit about their future selves, some are more pleasant than others.**

**please review, all feed back is welcome**

**comments, suggestions, ect. **

**thanks!**


	9. The Resistance

**The Dark Reign of Cipher **

**Chapter 9**

It had been a few hours since the resistance members left to gather their past selves and bring them to safety. Alex was healing his Dragonite with potions and herbs he gathered from Goldenrod City before they left. Brock, knowing a few things about healing herbs, began to help and in no time Dragonite was as good as new. "Take a rest pal, you've earned it," Alex said as he returned the dragon pokemon to it's pokeball. Gardevoir was sleeping up against one of the cave walls while sub consciously scanning the area for any potential threats with psychic abilities.

Unable to take the erie silence anymore, Ash spoke up. "So what exactly is going on?" he asked. Alex turned to face him.

"Cipher is trying to start a war, originally, they were just another criminal organisation, until they discovered how to increase a pokemon's abilities tenfold," Alex said. Ash, May, and Dawn turned to face Alex while Brock was taking care of everyone's pokemon, all except for a baby Dratini that was wrapped around both May and Ash's shoulders. "They discovered that by artificially slamming the hearts of pokemon shut, they could become much more powerful without their emotions holding them back. They were obedient to who ever was in charge of them without question."

"Who would do such a thing?" Dawn piped up.

"A demented mad man who wants complete and unquestioned power. However, it gets worse. These pokemon would have no feelings, and no emotions, except for pain. They have no self interest for their own well being, only as long as they do as told, they were named shadow pokemon for their dark state of mind." Ash and his friends were horrified as they tried to imagine what it would be like to be in a state like that.

"Is, is there anyway to reverse that?" Brock asked as he sat down next to Ash.

"There is, in fact, two ways, the first is to actually work with that shadow pokemon, let it be with ofther normal pokemon, and eventually open it's heart back up. The second way is by carefully reconstruct the shadow pokemon's mind to heal the damage. That way is more faster, but also more dangerous. Luckily, over the years, we've been able to find and save all of the shadow pokemon created by Cipher, except for one..." Alex trailed off.

"What pokemon is it?" May asked.

"_Deoxys,"_Gardevoir added. "_The first, and last of the shadow pokemon, it has been with Cipher's grand master ever since we've perfected the SNAG machine."_

"The what now?" Dawn asked while tilting her head to the side.

"The Shadow Neutraliser And Guard machine, or SNAG for short. It lets us recapture the shadow pokemon from Cipher and allows us to purify them. Once a pokemon is caught via SNAG machine, it can't be stolen or turned into a shadow ever again," Alex said. Ash was about to say somthing but Alex cut him off. "The SNAG machine however, only works on shadow pokemon."

The explanations kept going on and on for hours until Latios and Latias flew back into the cave and revealed themselves. "(Quickly! We must go!)" Latias chimed.

"(Cipher is coming!)" Latios added.

"What!" Alex yelled as he walked out of the cave with Rayquaza's ball in his hand. Ash soon followed even though May tried to hold him back.

"Pikachu, protect the others," was all Ash said as he step out of the cave.

"Do you think they'll be ok?" May asked the other two in the cave.

"I don't know May, things are getting crazy around here," Brock answered while receiving an agreeing Dawn's nod.

'_Be careful Ash,'_May thought to herself as she hugged the Dratini tightly, making it cry out uncomfortably.

'_They can't be here that fast!'_ Alex yelled to himself in disbelief as he and Ash made their way out of the cave and into the trees to get a look at the helicopters heading there way. "Ash! Get out of here!" Alex yelled to another tree.

"No! I can help!" was the reply he got back.

"Ash! You have no idea what your going up against! You have to go!"

"You can't do this alone!"

"And your too valuable to lose!" That took Ash aback, he didn't know how to respond to that. "I'll be fine Ash, I've been doing this sort of thing since I was little, just go." Ash nodded and was about to decend from the tree he was in until something very fast flew in between the two trainers.

"What is that thing?!" Ash yelled.

"That's Deoxys," Alex said as the fast creature flowed down and changed it's form from speed to attack. "Go Rayquaza!" Alex yelled as he threw a masterball into the air. The green snake like dragon made it's entrance with a loud roar. It turned to see it's opponent and gave off a low growl to signal it was ready. "Rayquaza, try to keep Deoxys busy for as long as possible!"

Rayquaza responded with nod and began attacking Deoxys with a Dragon Breath attack. Deoxys quickly responded by taking it's difference form so minimise the damage, then fired a dark ball at the dragon. Rayquaza easily dodged the energy ball which continued on it's path until it desipated. The exchanges kept going, and with neither combatants sustaining much damage, the duel seemed as if it could go on forever.

Suddenly, the sight of dozens and dozens of Cipher soldiers appearing from behind the trees began to draw the two trainer's attention. "Dragonite, come on out!" Alex called while he released his Dragonite.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Ash," May said in a whisper as she was still clutching the now uncomfortable Dratini. May's Eevee walked over and sat on her lap, as did Ash's Pikachu. "Hey, guys, it'll be all right, won't it?" May directed the last part to the now anxious Gardevoir.

"_I don't know,"_the embrace pokemon replied. After a while longer, sounds from the battle between Rayquaza and Deoxys continued to echo throughout the cave. "_I can't stand this anymore, I'm going to go up there and drag both of those knuckle heads back here!" _She said as she rose to her feet and headed for the entrance.

"Wait for me!" May said as she began to follow. May left with Pikachu and Eevee on her shoulders and thrusted the baby Dratini into Brock's arms. The baby dragon instantly didn't agree and began to thrash about in the breeder's arms.

The two didn't have far to go as they both had to duck to avoid the shock wave caused by Deoxys getting smashed into the ground by Rayquaza'a tail. "I guess we found them," May said. As the two found the two trainers, they found them backed in a corner with a single pokemon seperating them from the soldiers of Cipher. May and Gardevoir both let out shocked and worried gasps, but Pikachu instantly went on the offensive. Pikachu leaped from May's shoulder and began dashing towards a Machoke that was about to punch the tired Dragonite.

"Pika pika pika pika pikachu!!" Pikachu yelled as it's body was surrounded by electricity. The electric mouse easily knocked the Machoke out, causing it's owner to recall it. Pikachu then jumped in front of Ash and Alex with sparks emanating from it's cheeks.

"Pikachu! Great to see you buddy!" Ash exclaimed as Pikachu let off an affectionate coo. At that moment though, Dragonite was hit with an ice beam from a nearby Cloyster and fainted. Gardevoir took the fallen dragon's place as Alex recalled Dragonite.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"This is starting to become boring," Darious said to his master. Both Darious, and the Grand Master were standing on top of a hill over looking the battle taking place. "Perhaps we should end this now?"

"Very well, this is getting tiresome," he said as started towards the battle. After a few more minutes they were close to the group of fighting soldiers. A few soldiers were constantly pulling back due to being defeated.

"Enough of this non-sense!" Darious shouted.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The group of soldiers parted to show two figures in between the two bunched groups. Ash and Alex were still backed up against the rock wall while Gardevoir and Pikachu, although showing signs of exhaustion and damage, were not anywhere near towards giving up in protecting their trainers.

"It seems that no matter where we go, you will not give up the chase. Tell me, just why do you do you defy us to the point where you are pushed to edges to fight us?" the Grand Master asked as he walked towards the two trainers.

'_Oh no!'_May mentally shouted as she cursed herself for not being able to move from her spot. Eevee was also concerned about Pikachu who looked like he had taken a beating.

"If you monsters would stop up rooting innocent peoples' lives, then maybe we wouldn't have a quarl," Alex replied.

"Oh, I see you still hold a grudge for that, get over the past! Use your head! You can't win, and to help prove my point..." the Grand Master started before snapping his fingers. At the snap, Deoxys lowered it's self and landed next to it's master.

"_May is hiding behind those bushes just over there, we have to get her out of here,"_Gardevoir said to her trainer. Alex nodded in agreement.

"Ash," Alex said quiet enough so that only Ash heard him. "May is in those bushes over there, at the count of three, get her out of here, I'll cover your escape."

"What?" Ash responded with a surprised look on his face.

Just then a hyper beam attack hit the bushes where May was hiding. Alex instantly looked up to see Darious on his Salamence laughing like a mad man as May was blasted off the cliff side. She was screaming all the way down.

"May!" Ash yelled as he ran and jumped off of the cliff to try and catch her.

"(Ash! May! Eevee!) Pikachu yelled as he followed his trainer.

"Gardy! Go get them!" Alex instructed. She refused and turned to face Deoxys who hadn't moved. "Gardy!"

"_I'm not leaving you!"_ she scolded her trainer.

"Check," the Grand Master simply said. Deoxys began to duplicate itself to form twelve additional Deoxys. At once all but the origional began to attack Gardevoir who was doing her best to hold them off.

Alex's attention was directed towards the cliff side as Rayquaza shot up with Ash, May, Pikachu, and Eevee on it's back. "_Alex! Look out!"_

"And mate," the Grand Master finished his previous statement. Alex only had enough time to turn his head to meet the eyes of the origonal Deoxys in it's attack form. "Shadow constriction!" he ordered. Deoxys's right arm turned jet black and was thrusted straight through Alex's forehead as if it was intangible. Alex suddenly hit the ground as his senses began to fail him and he blacked out. A preoccupied Gardevoir could only wince at the rebounded affects of the attack.

"_Alex!!"_she yelled across there link, but no answer came. It was like screaming in a vacuum. She would normally rush to the side of her trainer, but she was still battling seven Deoxys clones. She was in a bad state, Dragonite and Alex were down for the count, Latios and Latias were protecting Dawn and Brock, and Rayquaza was heavily damaged by Deoxys who seemed to have gained no harm at all. All hope seemed to be gone, and that after several years on the run, several years of fighting for whats right, their journey was about to come to a close, untill...

"Empolion!" a female voice shouted.

"Blastoise!" a male voice shouted.

"Hydro Cannon!" they two voices shouted in unison. The two water attacks quickly dispersed the remaining clones and forced Cipher to back off a little bit. The older versions of Dawn and Gary landed on the back of Gary's Pigeot and ran up behind there water pokemon. The older version of Max was on his Swellow as they were flying side by side with Rayquaza apparently giving directions because both flying types turned around and were heading back towards the cave.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Ok Brock, now I'm really worried!" Dawn shrieked out after they heard May's screaming abruptly stop. Dawn had been pacing around ever since May and Gardevoir left. Brock looked like he had been mauled by an Ursaring, but it was actually the baby Dratini. After it had bitten Brock numerous times to let it go, Brock set it on the ground where it made itself comfortable in between Ash and May's packs.

"I"m sure everything's fine. Ash won't let anything happen to May," Brock said trying to ease the tensed teen. Both of them jumped when All there friends and family were ushered into the cave by the older versions of Misty and Tracy. "Prof. Oak! It's good to see you, do you have any idea on what's going on?"

"Unfortunatly no, all I was told is that we were all in danger. At first I didn't trust you guys," he turned towards the future counterparts. "But then my grandson came forth and I could instantly tell the similarities between the two. That let me put two and two together and now here we are."

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Darious was about to shout a command, but his master cut him off. "All units! Pull back!" Darious stared dumbfounded at his master. He was so shocked he was unable to speak.

"Your just goint to let them go!?" Darious objected when he found his voice.

"It seems to me that more and more of the resistance keeps showing up, and at this rate, I want all of my forces at full strengh when they ALL come to confront us, do I make myself clear?"

"Y-yes Grand Master..." Darious said in a defeated tone.

"Good, and besides that, that lousy kid won't be getting in our way anytime soon," the Grand Master said with a laugh as he boarded his helicopter. Darious still had a dumbfounded look on his face, but shook it off as he boarded the helicopter.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Gardevoir seemed to have arrived at her trainer's side in a second after Gary and Dawn provided assistance. She began to try and find any harm done to her trainer, but she couldn't find any physical harm. '_This isn't right,'_ she thought to herself.

She tried to check his mind, but when she found nothing, she began to panic. She mentally thrusted her mind into his head, and to her amazement, she found nothing but a dark black substance eating away at the mind scape of her trainer. The once calm and smooth mental plains were now slowly falling apart and being consumed. Gardevoir kept walking, avoiding the disintegrating floor as she searched for what ever was the cause of Alex's state of mind.

She soon found what she was looking for. In front of the embrace pokemon was a large golden sphere that held the unconscious trainer inside. Numerous streams of shadow energy were constantly trying to penetrate the golden sphere, but failed every time. Never seeing anything like this, Gardevoir let her curiosity get the best of her as she approached the sphere. She was careful to avoid the shadow energy as she stretched a hand out towards the sphere.

'_What is that? I've never felt something like this,'_she thought as she felt another foreign presence brush up against her mind. She noticed it was about to attack her until a more familiar presence. "_Alex?"_she questioned. The only reply she got was from the strange presence as it launched two beams of light, stopping two shadow tentacles from hurting the embrace pokemon. A third beam of light made contact with Gardevoir and blocked out her vision.

The next thing Gardevoir realised was that she was out of her trainer's mind and back in her own body. she looked at her trainer and pulled his unconcious body into a tight embrace. "_Wake up,"_she pleaded, but no response came. She didn't even notice the tears coming down the sides of her cheeks.

"Gardevoir? Is he alright?" The older Dawn's voice made Gardevoir look up. The look on her face said all the Dawn needed to hear. "We should get him out of here, we have to get back home, there at least we can stabilise his condition." Gardevoir nodded as she stood up and carried her trainer in her arms.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

May and Ash were sitting in the cave with all their friends and family. They did not see what happened after Rayquaza caught and carried them into the cave, but with the older Dawn and Gardevoir walking into the cave with the limp Alex, it added alot of tension to the already depressing condition. The sight of the young trainer made May scream in fear as she buried her face in Ash's arms and began to cry.

"Im sure he's ok May, it's not like he's..." Ash couldn't finish the carefully set Alex down and sat next to him. "What do we do now?" Ash asked Gary. Gary looked deep in thought then turned to Ash.

"Well, technically, I'm not in charge, she is," Gary said pointing towards the embrace pokemon. Everyone turned to face Gardevoir who seemed not to notice.

"_We're going home,"_She calmly said. Everybody nodded in agreement and gathered together as Celebi prepared to make a time jump. As everyone was pulled through the time stream. Went the jump was complete, everything looked the same, except for the large chopper sitting outside of the cave entrance. The future Gary, Tracy, and Max began to load the vehicle while everyone else began to get seated. The future Max and Dawn sat behind Gary and Tracy as they flew the chopper.

"Man, Blue is gonna go nuts," Max simply stated. That made Dawn tense.

"Oh, shoot! Gary! What are we going to do about Emily? She'll freak out!" Dawn yelled to her husband.

"I Guess one of us will have to keep her away until be we get Alex secured in the med-bay!" Gary yelled back to his wife. Hearing the whole conversation made the nervous younger Gary blush from embarrassment, as did the younger Dawn. The rest of the past company were observing their future counterparts.

After what seemed like moments, the chopper began to fly over an island off the coast of the Hoenn Region. As they came closer to landing, they could see hundreds of people approach the landing pad. The bystanders ranged from all ages. All of them seemed to be talking amongst themselves, But when the chopper landed they all went silent. The older Gary turned back towards the amazed trainers and coordinators.

"Welcome to the Risistance Headquarters, please enjoy your stay and remember, the next time you need to travel, travel Resistance Airlines," Gary said in a mocking tune. That stunt earned him a punch to the back of head from his wife.

"I think this is a little two serious!" she yelled. Gary nodded and was the first out of the vehicle as he began relaying instructions. The large group of people immediately dispersed and a stretcher came rushing towards him. "Ok, I'll try and keep Emily distracted, please try and get Alex in without causing too much of a commotion," he said as everyone else began to pile out of the chopper. The doctors strapped Alex down to the strecher while his faithful Gardevoir sat on it next to him.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"So are you really going to go through with this Drew?" Harley asked his friend as they made their way to the training area. Drew turned to face Harley, he had a nasty scowl on his face.

"Of course I am you idiot! I'm not going to get shown up again!" Drew shot at Harley. "Unlike you, I have no intention of looking like a fool!" That last statement earned him a scowl from Harley.

"What's gotten into you!" Harley shouted. "You've let your obsession for May lead you to this place, and you don't even know what your getting yourself into!"

"Save it for some one who cares!"

"For crying out loud! I can't take this anymore! I'm getting out of here while I still can," Harley said as he turned and left in the other direction. Drew watched Harley leave, inside he felt somewhat deflated, but that was immediately dispersed as Naps approached him.

"That was rather random, but no matter, lets get started!" Snaps suggested. Drew nodded in reply.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"_Now, awaken! Do not forget what I have told you..."_a strange voice said. The voice seemed to echo, as if it was compiled of multiple different tones. Never the less, the voice drew Alex out of his deathly slumber. As soon as his eyes were halfway opened, he was embraced in two tight hugs, one from his faithful Gardevoir, and the other from a brunette girl with brown eyes. She wore a blue shirt with a black collar around the neck, and a red skirt.

"Welcome back to the world of the living you goof!" the girl said as she released her hold on the still semi concious trainer.

"Thanks Emily," Alex responded. "_How long was I out?"_

"_Close to four days," _Gardevoir replied, still holding her trainer in a tight embrace.

"_That long? Wow," _Alex responded. Gardevoir let go of Alex as he got and began to walk around. "_We have to talk,"_

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"I still feel bad Ash," May said. May, Ash, and their pokemon were enjoying the rich environment around the Resistance Headquarters. "It's our fault that he got hurt, it could have been worse, Alex could have died."

Ash looked at his shoes, deep down he felt bad too. "May, he's really grown on you, hasn't he?" Ash said as he tried to force a smile. Ever since he saw Alex he had tried to suppress the urge to punch him in the face. Ash felt that Alex was trying to steal May away from him, just like Drew.

"You have no idea Ash..." May started.

"Oh, I see," Ash said depressingly.

"No, Ash, you don't get it!" ash turned to face his girlfriend with a curious look.

"What don't I get?" May sighed and began to whisper into Ash's ear. Ash's face burst into a blush as the realisation hit him. "Me? A dad?" May nodded, a light blush forming on her face. Eevee and Pikachu were cuddling in a tree just above their perspective trainers while watching over a baby Dratini as it happily snaked it's way through the branches.

"(Who would have seen you as the parent type?)" Eevee joked with a smirk.

"(Hey, who's gonna look out for Ash and everyone else without me?)" Pikachu replied while scratching the back of his head.

"(from what I heard, in a few years, your Ash, and my May will have a bundle of joy all to themselves,)" Eevee said as she rubbed her head up against her mate's head. Pikachu jumped at the statement.

"(What!)" Pikachu yelped as he nearly fell off of the branch he was sitting on. He was saved by Eevee's quick actions. "(Ash, wow, wouldn't expect that from you, of all people,)" Pikachu said with a chuckle.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

_"Your kidding me right?" _Gardevoir asked. She folded her arms, obviously annoyed. "_You just woke up and now your saying that we have to go all the way to Agate Village?"_

_"I'm afraid so,"_Alex replied. Gardevoir sighed, she knew she was defeated.

"Um, did I miss something?" Emily asked. Alex shook his head while Gardevoir sat down and rested her head on one of her arms.

"So here's where the imfamous Blue ran off to!" A young blonde girl said as she entered the room. She looked just a few years younger than Alex and Blue, and her long hair traveled all the way down to her waist. She wore a yellow apron over her black dress. "Come on Blue, you know your not supposed to be here, your mom is totally gonna kill you if she fines you."

"Oh come on Yellow, Like she'll find me here," Blue started, but Yellow quickly interrupted.

"Oh please Blue, your too predictable! This was the first place I looked, and it will be the first place your mom looks to," Yellow said. Blue blushed, hard.

"How bad could it get?" Blue carelessly asked.

"Emily!" Dawn's voice sounded off in the distance.

"Ok! Let's get back to training now Yellow," Blue said as she began pushing the blond girl in front of her. "Bye Gardy! Bye Alex!" Blue said blowing Alex a kiss. Then she and Yellow ran off before Dawn would show up.

Alex and Gardevoir have gotten so used to that sort of situation that it doesn't even phase them. "Well, I guess we should go find Gary," Alex said to his partner who hadn't switch positions at all.

_"You know, some times I wish you weren't so reckless," _she replied.

"_Would you love me if I was anybody different?"_ Alex asked playfully.

"_Yes! And Maybe I wouldn't worry so much! I feel like I'm going to have a heart attack or something!"_ Gardevoir yelled to her trainer. Alex flinched at the volume of her words. "_You just woke up, and do you know just how dangerous your plane is? You could die!"_

_"Some things are just more important than me."_

_"You know, your dad had the exact same attitude, now I know how your mom felt," _Gardevoir said as she calmed down. "_Fine, let's go, but! If we hit any trouble I will tie you to my back so you don't run off and get hurt, again!"_

_"Deal,"_ Alex said with a smile.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Blue and Yellow ran by Ash and May as they continued to snuggle underneath a tree. "Aw, that's so cute! Ash and May sitting in a tree, k-i-s-s-i-n-g! First comes..." Blue started to sing but some one walked up behind them, casting a chilling sensation up there backs.

"You two are supposed to be with your instructor training!" the person said.

"But mom," Blue started.

"No buts missy get going!" Dawn shouted.

"Yes mom," Blue said with her head hung low.

"And you Tiffany," Dawn said shifting her gaze to Yellow, who flinched.

"I expected better from you. What would Misty think if I told her you were cutting training as well?" Dawn said.

"No, please Miss Oak, you don't need to tell my mom, it won't happen again," Yellow tried to defend herself. Both teens ran off towards the training field. Training seemed appealing to the young lovers under the tree.

"Wow, I haven't trained since my last contest," May said scratching the back of her head. Ash stood up and struck a victory pose.

"Then what are we waiting for? Let's go!" he said as May stood up as well. The two of them began to follow the same path that Blue and Yellow used.

In the tree, Pikachu was more than happy to hear the word "training" but Eevee let out a depressed sigh. '_What a joy killer, still, if it makes Pikachu happy, then I'm happy,'_Eevee thought to herself. "(Come on Dratini, it's time to go,)" Eevee said to the baby dragon snake, who complied happily.

When they found the training feild, they saw several teams of five training and battling each other. Ash and May found the group that Blue and Yellow belonged to and decided to join then. Their team consisted of Blue, Yellow, a boy with black hair, he wore a black vest and a red scarf, and a cap that covered his eyes, and another boy with light brown hair and brown eyes, he wore a gray long sleeved shirt with gray pants. Max seemed to be in charge of the group of teens, but his attention was focused on the two new comers.

"It's about time you two showed up, you almost got all of us in trouble," the black haired boy said, much to the irritation of Yellow.

"Oh come on Lucas, we all know you cut coordination practice," Yellow shot to the black haired boy.

"Oh and the little sister burns the older brother," the light brown haired boy.

"Yeah Wally, like your much better!" Blue said. Wally's face dropped.

"Can it! All of you. Don't you see we have company?" Max yelled to the group of quarreling teens who stopped their bikkering instantly. They all turned to see Ash and May, who both sweat dropped. "What can we do for you two?"

"Well, we were kinda hoping to get some training done," Ash said.

"Well your more than welcome to join us!" Blue exclaimed with a wink.

"Kiss-up," Lucas coughed. Blue gave the bored trainer a death glare.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"What! Your joking, please tell me your joking! You just woke up!" Gary exclaimed to the young trainer in front of him. "For crying out loud, you must have a death wish or something. I know you did this sort of thing when you were little, but your kinda too important to lose!"

"I'm only going to be gone for a week Gary," Alex said calmly.

"_Your not going to convince him otherwise, I've already tried, and it won't work,"_Gardevoir said hopelessly with a sigh.

"Ok, fine, just make sure you come back in one piece, alright?" Gary said.

Alex responded with a nod and turned around to leave. When he got to the exit he turned to face Gary. "When I get back, we're going straight after Cipher, and we'll end this war before it starts," and with that he left. "Ok Gardy, we have one more stop to make," he said to his partner.

Alex and his Gardevoir arrived at the large pokemon reservation set aside for trainer's pokemon. "Tracy!" Alex yelled into the lab.

"Yeah?" Tracy said as he stepped out from behind a large bookshelf. "Oh no, this can only mean one thing," the professor said.

"Yeah, can you watch after Latios, Latias, and Dragonite for me?" Alex asked.

"Uh, yeah, sure, who are you going to take with you instead?"

"Well, Gardy obviously, Rayquaza, Ninetails, Leafeon, and Feraligator," Alex said as he reached for his pokeballs.

"I still have no idea how you managed to become so close with all your legendaries when you were so little," Tracy said as he placed the three dragon types' pokeballs to the large shelf.

"Hey, What can I say, I guess I'm more like my parents than I thought," Alex said as he turned to leave.

"Just come back alive, ok?" Tracy said, Alex nodded and left with his new team.

"_Why does everybody keep saying that?" _Alex asked the embrace pokemon.

_"Because they care about you!" _she replied.

"Well, I guess we should get going," Alex said as he released Rayquaza from its ball. "Rayquaza, can you fly us to Agate?" The large dragon nodded, and lowered its head so that Alex and Gardevoir could climb on. The three of them sped off as soon as Rayquaza took off.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Blue looked up in the sky just in time to see a large green snake fly off in the distance. '_What! That's so not cool! You better come back safe or me and Gardy are gonna tie you down! Your the only one left from the Ketchum family, not to mention your the only guy for me,'_ Blue thought to herself as a light blush appeared on her face.

"What's up Blue?" Yellow asked as she saw her best friend stare off into space. She saw the green shape in the sky. "Aw, don't worry Blue, your boyfriend is bound to come back," Yellow added causing Blue to Blush deeper.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

**There's Chapter nine, sorry it took so long, I've been a bit busy. But i hope you enjoyed it. **

**To clarify what happened, Gardevoir had to travel into Alex's mind to find out what was wrong. Then while Alex was in his coma, the past versions of the resistance members decided to go and look around, although the only ones we heard from were Ash and May. Also, I couldn't resist throwing in the Dex Holders from the magna.**

**In the next Chapter, Alex returns to the resistance after a week and everyone heads back into the past, to face of against Cipher.**

**Please review, feedback would be wonderful Comment, suggestions, ect. it's all welcome **

**thanks!**


	10. Old Mentors, and Commrades

**The Dark Reign of Cipher**

**Chapter 10**

As Alex flew through the clouds on his way to Agate, he held on tightly to Rayquaza's horns on the back of its head to keep from falling off. Behind him, his loyal Gardevoir was wrapping her arms around her trainer's waist and covered her eyes in his shoulder.

"_Have I ever told you how much I hate flying?"_ Gardevoir complained. Alex sighed, he knew this was coming.

"_Yes I know Gardy, but this is the fastest way to travel, and we are on a dead line after,"_ Alex replied. She tightened her grip on his waist, causing Alex to growl in discomfort. "_Don't worry, it's almost over, I can see the village down there."_

_"Good! Lets get down on solid ground!" _

_"You didn't seem to have a problem on the way home," _Alex jested. He knew from experience that the best way to calm her down was to distract her attention, even if it meant making her angry.

"_You were incapacitated! I had other priorities on my mind," _She shot back.

"_I love you Gardy,"_ Alex teased. He could practicly feel the frustration build up inside the embrace pokemon. He patted Rayquaza's head twice signalling the ozone dragon to dive down and land.

"_You can be such a bundle of problems sometimes, but, your my bundle of problems," _The embrace pokemon said, unaware that they had landed. When she felt her trainer dismount the dragon she opened her eyes. "_When did we... Why you little snot! You did that on purpose!"_ Gardevoir said as she glared at her trainer who smiled back at her.

"Maybe," he simply said as he recalled the large dragon. His partners glare quickly turned into a smile at her trainer's actions. She sighed and joined her trainer's side like she always did.

"Your late!" An old voice yelled behind the two. Both Alex and his Gardevoir flinched at the voice that they knew all too well. They both turned to see an old man with a long gray beard. His eyes were hard to see due to his thick eye lashes. He wore a long blue and purple robe and by his side was a Pikachu that looked wise with age. "You were supposed to be here by sunrise, it's already almost noon!" the man said.

"Sorry Master Euagen," Alex said bowing to the old man. Gardevoir simply curtasied.

"Gardevoir, it's good to see you look after this reckless boy, he's too much like his father for his own good,I'm sure that if you weren't around, there would be no one to balance his recklessness," Euagen said. Alex secretly shot his old teacher a glare. "Don't glare at me boy! Learn to respect your elders!" Euagen shot at the boy who flinched at the voice. "Bella is waiting for you back at home Gardevoir," the old man said. Gardevoir nodded and began to make her way to one of the houses.

"_Wait, what about Alex?"_ Gardevoir asked out of curiosity. Euagen sighed.

"Me and him need to talk, you run along now, don't keep Bella waiting." In full honesty, Alex expected this, Euagen some how always knew how to figure out what his plans were. "Alex, come with me, lets take a walk," he said as he turned to head towards the woods. Alex sighed as he went to follow the old man.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"So wait, let me get this straight, Alex just took off without a guard or anything!?" Gary's wife shouted at her husband. Dawn was absolutly furious. "Gary I can't belive you! Do you know how important he is! Alex isn't just a great battler who can hold his own against the high administrators of Cipher, but he's also a figure of hope for everyone, and yet here you are letting him go off to a desert island for a week! What would you do if he didn't come back? Hmm?" Dawn scolded.

"But, Dawn, he was going to go anyway, and you know as well as I do that Orre isn't just a desert. I'm sure he left for a reason. It's not like we're going on a wild Pelliper chase again, we know he'll be fine," Gary defended himself. Dawn softly kissed him before whispering in his ear.

"He better, I'm not willing to lose my god son, again, besides, do you want to see Emily break down again?" Dawn whispered before turning and leaving. The younger Gary walked towards his older self with a confused expression.

"What exactly do you see in her?" he asked. The older Gary sighed.

"Its her personality, she can cheer me up in an instant, you'll find out some day, trust me."

"What ever you say," the younger Gary said as he walked away.

"You'll learn soon enough," the older Gary said to himself.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ash, May, Yellow, Blue, Lucas, and Wally were all busy training while Max watched over them. As he watched them, he noticed how the managed to break into teams and give support for each other. At the moment it was Ash and May verse Blue and Yellow verse Wally and Lucas. As he watched the three way battle, he also took note of the pokemon they wee battling with and how they worked together.

"Ok, so Ash and May back each other up pretty well, Ash taking offence and May providing defence. Blue also plays offence with Yellow trying to back her up. as for Lucas and Wally, Lucas has to stop trying to take the lime light and let Wally help," Max said to himself as he began jotting down notes.

After the battle Max offered his suggestions for improvement. "Yellow, Blue, you two need to be more syncronised with each other like Ash and May are, none of you could lay a scratch on them," he explained. "As for Lucas and Wally, well, you guys deffinatly need to work on your team work. You have to stop trying to be the hero and let your partner help."

"What about Alex? He dosen't need a partner, and neither do I!" Lucas argued.

"Yes you do," Max said calmly. Lucas glared and Max explained what he meant. "What sets Alex apart from everyone else is his unique battle style that allows him to both attack and defend at the same time. Most people cannot do that because that requires years a bond like that with your pokemon."

"But did he learn to do that?" Yellow asked.

"I don't know how, but i'm sure its somthing he developed when he was on the run after...that happened." Everyone except for Ash and May all lowered their gaze to the ground and Lucas even removed his hat and the mention of that incident. Not understanding why everyone's attatude instantly turned gloomy, Ash spoke up.

"Uh, what was "that" incident, and why would Alex be on the run?" Ash innocently asked.

"Class dismissed," Max said. The others left leaving only Ash and May with Max. "You two come with me, I'll fill you in."

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Gardevoir was walking through the elderly village. During her trainer's early childhood the two of them spent much time in this village. She knew the village like the back of her hand. The village its self was composed of buildings made from large tree stumps. There was a tall waterfall in the middle of the village that was supported by a large lake at the top. The surrounding forest hid the village from the surrounding desert that covered the majority of the island. You would never find the village unless you knew it was there.

_'I love this wonderful village, its a shame we don't spend more time here, its so nice and peaceful!'_ Gardevoir thought to herself as she made her way to Euagen and Bella's home. Although the village looked small, it was larger than it seemed. '_Nature and people live in harmony here, I'm amazed and glad that war has never reached here,' _she thought as she watched few water pokemon jump in the lake, flocks of bird pokemon fly from three to three and various other forest pokemon living as if they would in a normal forest.

Eventually she came to her destination, a small home sililar to the rest, except this one was on a higher ridge than the others. This little house in particular sat next to a small creek leading to a pond with a smaller waterfall. An Espeon seemed to be waiting for the Gardevoir as she came up to the house.

"_This way please, Miss Bella is waiting for you." _the Espeon said, while greeting the embrace pokemon.

"_Thank you Espeon,"_ Gardevoir replied as she followed the Espeon behind the house. There an old women in a pink robe sat by the pond, aparently meditating. She acknowledged the embrace pokemon without even looking at her.

"Ah, my dear, it's been some time," she said. "Come, let's test your abilities, I want to make sure you haven't forgotten anything I've taught you." The Gardevoir sighed and reluctabtly made her way over to her old mentor. "Let's start with your healing abilities."

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Alex and Euagen were walking through the forest, mainly towards the protector's shrine. When the shine came into veiw, A smile appeared on the young trainer's face. "I haven't seen this place in a long time," Alex said. Euagen nodded.

"That's probobly for the best, the less shadow pokemon out there the better," the old man said. "Well, I'm sure, your partner can no longer read your thoughts at this time, so you can lower those walls and tell me what your planning now."

"Alright, where to start..." Alex started.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Max was leading Ash and May through the headquarters, and seemed to be avoiding a certin wing for a reason. the two love birds seemed to notice somthing was up. "Um, Max, is somthing wrong?" May asked.

"Yeah, you haven't told us anything," Ash said. Max sighed, he knew he would have to tell them.

"Alright, listien up, I wasn't acually there, I just got the details from the search teams that were dispatched, so I'll tell you what we assume was the case," Max said before he told the story.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

_In the middle of a large forest was a small log cabin. Outside were four figures, two adults, a small boy, and a pokemon. The pokemon was a Gardevoir and it was holding a pack of supplies. _

_"Alright Ash, how much time do we have left?" May asked. She wore a pink long sleeved shirt with a blue tanktop and a light green skirt that reached down to her feet. She wore a blue head band with a pink pokeball symbol. May was in her mid twenties. She was hugging a small five year old boy with brown hair and blue eyes._

_"I don't know May, but I'm sure we don't have much time, I haven't heard back from anyone from the 42nd, I think they're already here," Ash said. He wore a blue zip up sweater and blue pants. He was no longer wearing his traditional cap. He looked at the small boy and joined his wife in hugging him. "Son, take care of yourself, I'm proud of you." Tears began to stream down his cheeks. Tears were already steaming down May's face like a waterfall._

_"Stay safe! I love you!" she said to the boy._

_"Mommy? Daddy? Whats going on?" the boy asked._

_"Alex, you have to go," Ash said. _

_"Did I do somthing wrong?" Alex said dejectedly._

_"No sweety, we didn't do anything wrong, we just want you to stay safe," May said while ruffuling the boy's hair. "Gardy, you take care of him now," May ordered._

"I'll protect him with my life,"_ the embrace pokemon said. May gave her son one last loving hug before letting the boy go._

_"We love you Alex," she said while wipping the tears from her eyes._

_"Here, dragon types are very strong, they have very few weaknesses and they can be very reliable. I personally trained this Dragonair, it should be able to help you out of a sticky situation," Ash said as he handed a pokeball to Alex. At that point Pikachu and Eevee can running towards their perspective trainers._

_"(They're coming!)" the two pokemon shouted. Ash and May looked at each other and nodded. _

_"Time for you two to go," Ash said as he and May got onto their feet and stood in front of the boy. The Gardevoir grabbed the boy with one hand and teleported away just before a bunch of soldiers in shining white armor appeared. They were led by a man in a black cloak with a white mask._

_"Did I just miss the fond farewell?" the man asked. May growled at the man, but Ash put a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Oh well, I'll finish him off in a few minutes." _

_"Just try it!" Ash yelled._

_"See what happens when you mess with our son!" May yelled in agreement._

_The man just readied two pokeballs as Ash and May stood their ground._

_"Today, the resistance is delt a heavy blow," the man said._

_An hour or two later Brock, Misty, Tracy, and several others all apeared at the scene. They found Ash and May's beaten limp bodies. their pokemon were scattered across the battle feild, in the same condition as their trainers. They loaded them into the body bags and began to examine the local area. The cabin was blown to peices and the feild was littered with scorch marks and craters._

_"This is horrible, this place is destroyed, and I don't see any traces of Alex or his Gardevoir," Tracy said. Brock nodded in agreement._

_"Knowing those two, they probably sent him somwhere safe, the question is, where?" Brock stated._

_"They are shows signs of a search, we can only hope that Cipher didn't find the poor kid," Misty said._

_"How do we know he's even alive?" Tracy asked._

_"He's alive, trust me. He has his father's guts and his mother's luck, he'll be just fine," Brock said._

_"Yeah, as long as we find him soon," Misty said._

_"If he say what transpired, which I have a good feeling he did, then he won't want to see anybody," Brock said. Misty agreed with a nod._

_"What? Why?" Tracy asked. "Wouldn't he be relieved to see us?"_

_"When he gets scared or angry, the emotions will rebound to Gardevoir," Brock started. _

_"And she'll protect him at all costs, wheither it be from friend or foe," Misty finished. Noticing her boyfriend's expression she went into depth. "Those two have a close bond, a bond stronger than Ash and Pikachu's. They read each others thoughts, its like they share the same mind and feelings."_

_"I remember this one time when we were practicing, Alex didn't even need to say any commands, and they ended up wasting my Onix," Brock said. He looked around. "Come on lets get out of here, this is depressing." The others agreed as it began rain. The rain came down hard as if the sky its self was mourning. _

_------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- _

Max was wiping a tear from his eye as he finished his story. May was crying and Ash looked as pale as if he saw a Haunter. "The entire 42nd division was annialated without warning. They were there to protect you two, but all they could do was hold them off for a few minutes. There was somthing foul there that day, and only one person knows what," Max said.

"Alex?" Ash suggested. Max nodded.

"But he won't say anything over than what he already has," Max said.

"So, how long did it take to find him?" May asked.

"Seven years," a voice behind them said. The three of them turned to see the older Brock. "It took us seven years to find him."

"Seven years?" Ash asked confused. Max nodded. "How? Wouldn't everyone be out looking for him?"

"We sent as many search teams out as we could, Brock and I led many of them, but after a while we started to lose hope," Max said.

"The only real leads we had were the trail of destroyed Cipher outposts, and a tip from one of spy teams," Brock added. "Eventually we found him after he brought down Lawrence III's airship on Goldenrod City, which he still hasn't forgiven himself for."

"Why what happened?" May asked.

"The entire city has been destroyed," Max said. The young lovers were taken aback. "Most of the city had been long since destroyed. Cipher was fighting us feircly to total contrl of the city. It really was a major moral boost to see that airship drop, you should have seen the look on Gary's face, priceless!" Max tried to lightened the mood. It work.

"Yeah, I remember, he was dumb struck, sure, we knew it was on its way, but to actually see that thing come down from the inside was amazing," Brock said.

"From the Inside!?" May shouted. "He was inside of it!?" Everyone, including Pikachu and Eevee were surprised and afraid from the girl's outburst.

"He escaped, and turned the tide in Goldenrod. Most of us wouldn't be here if he didn't show up," Max said. Brock nodded in agreement. "Seven years doing what ever he was doing turned him into a great battler, he single handedly SNAGed and purified Cipher's most powerful pokemon."

"All that remains is Deoxys," Brock started.

"And for some reason, it's out for his blood," Max finished.

"And, Cipher knew he was out there the whole time?" Ash asked. Max and Brock both nodded.

"We had no idea until our best spy told us with his dying breath," Brock said. "Harley said, and I-" Brock started.

"Harley!?!" Ash and May both exclaimed.

"And I quote, "Hey Gary, Brock, Max, our dear departed friends Ash and May's little bundle of joy is still out there, he made me swear on pain of death it wouldn't say it, but that won't matter now." Those were his last words," Brock finished.

"Can we see all our friends?" Ash asked. Brock and Max both nodded and led the way.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Euagen was sitting on a stump, rubbing his forehead with one of his hands. "If it wasn't for the fact that I knew where you were coming from, and that your serious, I would call you insane," the old man said to the young trainer an the stump across from him.

"So, can you help?" Alex asked.

"Yes, I'll help, but by Arceus will this be hard."

"The right thing always is."

"True, but this has a very low chance of survival, your going to half to end the battle before it starts, do you understand me?"

"Yes Master Euagen."

"Good, are you ready?"

"Of course!"

"Then let us begin, tomorrow." The two stood up and walked back towards the village. Euagen seemed the same as he had earlier, But Alex was more irritated.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Good my dear, your abilities haven't dulled a bit! You should be proud, not very many pokemon can preform healing moves on other beings, yet alone to this point," Bella said to the embrace pokemon. "Now, if Alex was here I could test the strength of your bond, but im sure that it is perfectly fine know." '_Euagen hurry up, I can't keep her distracted for much longer,'_ Bella thought to herself.

Eventually Alex and Euagen returned to the small house where Bella, Espeon, and Gardevoir were all meditating.

"I never understand how they do that, it drives me crazy," Euagen muttered to Alex.

"I know what you mean," Alex muttered under his breathe.

"Meditation calms the mind and allows one to listien to even the quietest things," Bella said loud enough for the two boys to hear. Both Euagen and Alex's sweat dropped as they realised that the trio heard them.

"_You should meditate Alex, then maybe you can stop worrying,"_ Gardevoir advised her trainer.

"_Maybe some other time,"_ Alex replied.

"_I wasn't suggesting you know," _Gardevoir said while casting a commanding look at her trainer, who in turn walked over and attempted to meditate.

"He deffinatly respects her, dosen't he?" Bella asked Euagen.

"If there's anything he's learned over the years its respect and control, and maybe a bit luck," Euagen said with a light chuckle.

"So, did they really come here for "that" training?"

"I'm afraid so, but he knows of the conciquences, even though he will probably die, he won't back down. As I've said before, he's too much like his father for his own good."

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Blue, because you had to go and run off, I got in trouble!" Yellow complained as the two girls were sitting on some couches in the lounge. The room had a large fireplace, with book shelves lining the walls. The red walls reflected the sun's light from the windows. Chairs, tables, and couches filled the room.

"I got in trouble too Yellow, so don't worry," Blue replied. Yellow just rolled her eyes at her best friend. "So how's it going with Wally?" Blue teased. A blush appeared on Yellow's face.

"I don't know, how are things with you and Alex?" Yellow teased back. This time it was Blue's turn to blush. Before Blue could say somthing, Yellow's older brother intruded on them.

"Yellow! You like Wally!?" Lucas joked as he started laughing histarically. Yellow's already pink face turned a shade deeper. "Oh man, I gotta tell him," Lucas started before Yellow tackled him.

"Oh no you don't!" she yelled pinning him to the floor.

"What about me?" a soft voice said. Yellow jumped and started scratching the back of her head nervously.

"Oh, nothing Wally," Yellow stuttered. Wally raised an eyebrow for a moment before shrugging it off.

"Ok, what ever you say," he said before sitting down in a chair and began reading a book. Blue forced herself to restrain a giggle while Yellow sighed in relief.

"Any way, Yellow, mom wants to talk to you," Lucas said as he got up from the floor.

"Oh, ok," Yellow said as the color faded from her face. She hesitantly made her way out of the room to go see Misty. Lucas took her spot of the couche right across from Blue who was reading a magazine.

"So my sis likes Wally?" Lucas whispered. Blue just nodded her head, causing Lucas to snicker. "I'll humor her, and let Wally find out on his own."

"Then this should be fun to watch," Blue said as she kept her eyes glued to her magazine. She didn't even notice more people coming into the room.

"What's this?" A tall boy with long red hair asked as he plucked the magazine straight out of Blue's hands.

Blue looked up instantly, and upon noticing who it was sighed and tried to retrive the magazine. "Silver, give it back!" she yelled. Another boy with raven black hair and a gold and red hoodie started laughing, until the girl with blue hair slapped him upside the head. Another boy with white hair just ignored the who situation and instead, like Wally sat down and began reading a book.

"Silver! come on, give it back!" Blue demanded. Silver pretended not to hear her. In truth, those two were very good friends, but Silver liked to mess with her a bit sometimes.

"Lets see, "how to make a guy notice you," wow Blue, could you be anymore desperate?" Silver joked before Blue snatched the magazine out of his hand.

"Silver, why do you always have to do that? Its mean!" the blue haired girl said.

"Come on Crys, he was just joking," the raven haired boy said.

"It dosen't matter John, its still mean," Crystal responded.

"But," John started.

"Gold, Silver, Crystal! Can you please stop shouting, some of us are trying to read," the white haired boy said.

"Thank you Brendan," Wally muttered.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

About a week later, Alex and Gardevoir were about to leave Agate Village, and head back to the Resistance. In a way, the young trainer was completly different. He was more serious, and less carefree. Euagen and Bella both approached the two of them.

"Here Alex, your going to need this to," Euagen said as he handed Alex a small peral ring. "Palkia's ring, keep it safe." Alex nodded.

"And Gardevoir, don't forget what I told you," Bella added. Gardevoir nodded in reply. The trainer and his partner got onto Rayquaza's back and took off into the sky. As the trio entered the clouds, the two elders looked at each other. Then they both glowed white and changed into pokemon. Bella turned into Mew, while Euagen turned into Mewtwo. "I forgot how hard it is to hold a transformation for that long!" Mew complained.

"But it had to be done," Mewtwo said. Mew looked at her life partner.

"Do you think they'll succed?" Mew asked.

"We can only hope for the best," Mewtwo replied looking at where their guests disapeared to.

After several hours of flying, Alex saw the island that the Risistance used as their headquarters. It was almost night by the time they landed, and due to them landing discretly, almost nobody knew they were there. Gary was already waiting for them.

"About time," Gary said in an irritated voice. "Come on, dinner's almost ready." Alex recalled Rayquaza and followed Gary inside with Gardevoir at his side. Once they were inside and the two of them and their pokemon ate, they went to go sit in the now empty lounge.

"Did everyone else go to sleep already?" Alex asked. Gary nodded.

"Dawn and I have been switching shifts waiting for you, and now that your here, whats your plan?" Gary asked.

"To be serious, I don't have a real plan, just parts. I know Cipher is going to attack the leagues soon, but while you guys are going to focus on that, I have a grudge to settle with their leader."

"Don't even think about going on your own again," Dawn's voice said from behind Alex. His god mother steped forward and sat on the couche next to her husband. She brought a coffee tray with her. "That's suicide."

"Maybe, but I'm the only one who can beat him," Alex said as poured himself a small cup of coffee.

"And what makes you think that?" Gary asked.

"Because he isn't human, literally," Alex said. Then he took one final sip from his cup before setting it back on the tray. "Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go retire now, good night," Alex said as Gardevoir let out a larger yawn. The two of them got up and went to Alex's bedroom, leaving a puzzeled Gary and Dawn.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Alex's room was almost completly bare except for a bed, nightstand, a clock, a lamp, a PC, and detailed maps from all the regions, including the Orange Islands. "_Good night Gardy," _Alex said with a yawn as he layed down on his bed not even making an effort to change or get under the sheets.

"_Good night Alex,"_ Gardevoir replied the exact same way as her trainer did and layed down next to him. The two instantly fell asleep.

**Chapter 10 completed, the story is now moving towards the clamatic stage. **

**Yes, Euagen and Bella were secretly Mew and Mewtwo in disquise.**

**I added more of the Dex Holders from the Mangna.**

**Comments, reveiws, suggestions, ect. ALL WELCOME SO PLEASE REVEIW!**


	11. Ghost

**The Dark Reign of Cipher**

**Chapter 11**

"Ash! Wake up!" May's shouts could be heard from all over the dormitories. In their room, Ash was still sleeping on the bed while May, already irritated, was trying to wake him up. Finally the trainer stirred. "Finally Ash, breakfast was served hours ago," May calmly said as she sat down on his bed.

"Really? What time is it?" Ash asked. May sighed at her boyfriend's laziness to check the clock right next to him.

"According to the clock next to you, it's almost noon," May said in a teasing voice. Ash quickly face palmed for his foolishness. "Didn't you set your alarm last night?" May asked out of simple curiosity.

"Yeah, but I think I forgot to set it at the right time," Ash said as he rubbed the back of his head and gave off a chuckle. May sighed and rolled her eyes.

"Come on Ash, you better get dressed, you don't want everyone to see you in your pajamas do you?" May teased while hiding a blush. She giggled as she saw Ash nearly fall off his bed trying to get dressed. After a few minutes Ash was fully dressed and left his room with May. As they were going down the hall, Ash saw something out of the corner of his eyes.

He faintly saw Alex standing in a near empty room, his left arm was wrapped in a large amount of gauze and the boy had a worn and tired expression on his face. '_What happened to him?' _Ash asked himself. He was about to show May, but Alex's Gardevoir shut the door, so he kept his thoughts to himself. The two of them eventually made it into the mess hall where the others were having breakfast.

Hundreds, if not thousands of trainers and their pokemon were happily enjoying themselves. "Wow," the two of them said in unison before letting their pokemon out and getting their own food. They sat with the rest of their friends and family and began to share idol chat.

"Hey May," Ash said quietly, getting his girlfriend's attention.

"Hmm?" May asked as she turned her head to Ash.

"Did you see Alex?" Ash asked. May shook her head.

"No, why?" May asked, concern rising in her voice.

"Well," Ash started. "I saw him just a minute ago, and his arm looked like it was bandaged, and he looked tired."

"Well, I think that it's just his fatigue catching up with him," May reassured even though she made a mental note to check up on him next time she saw him.

* * *

_"It still stings," _Alex said to the embrace pokemon with telepathy. He flexed his left hand, despite the pain he was receiving.

Gardevoir winced as she felt the pain as well. "_Master Euagen and Mistress Bella did warn you that it would take time for your body to adapt," _she said. "_At least you can preform the technique without killing yourself," _she said hoping to lighten the tension she was feeling from her trainer.

"_But at what cost? I don't even know how long it will last, much less if used in succession."_

_"That's why it's a last resort technique."_

_"I guess..." _Alex said as his thoughts drifted else where to the conflict that lay before him, and the comrades that would stand beside him. '_I don't even know how long I'll last if I lose control,' _he hid his thoughts from the embrace pokemon. He finished getting dressed and with his loyal Gardevoir at his side, left his room. He didn't head in the direction of the cafeteria, but rather the opposite direction.

The two of them made their way through the halls until they left the building. Easily retracing his steps from the right before, he made his way to the same lounge where Gary spent most of his time when not preoccupied with various duties and obligations. Alex and Gardevoir found the brunette sitting an a chair, reading a news paper, with a cup of steaming coffee on the nearby table.

Gary looked up to see the two standing in the doorway. "let me guess," he started as he placed the paper on the table next to his coffee. Alex and Gardevoir walked into the lounge and sat down.

"A list of all volunteers?" Dawn finished as she shut the door, before taking a seat as well. Alex nodded and Gary passed him a computer pad that contained a digital list of everyone going. "So predictable," Dawn muttered.

'_Being the leader of the Resistance does have its benefits,'_he told himself. As was his right, he was able to approve or disapprove of anyone who would partake in a large-scale operation. The boy's gaze flew through the list, however it came to a stop abruptly as they ran across two names. "Absolutely not," he muttered. Gardevoir looked at the list to see the two names.

"_May Maple and Ash Ketchum? How did they get on the list?" _Gardevoir asked her trainer. Alex shot an accusing glare at Gary, who instantly knew what it was for.

"Don't blame me, it was Max's idea," Gary said to defend himself as he raised his hands. He could hear the boy's knuckles crack and turn white as his anger "According to him, they have exactly what it takes for the fight."

"I'll be the judge of that thank you very much!" Alex snapped almost venomously. He rose and left the room as Gardevoir gave the Oaks an apologetic look before turning to catch up with her trainer.

"Besides, they volunteered," Gary finished in a quiet voice even though he knew the frustrated teen couldn't hear him.

"Ah, don't worry about it, he's just under stress," Dawn said.

"Can you blame him?" Gary asked.

"_Alex?" _She asked when she finally caught up to him. Alex had stopped just meters outside the lounge, his face easily showed anger and frustration. She wrapped her mind around his, and once she got past the outer shell of his emotions, there was just sadness and worry.

"They shouldn't be going!" he yelled as he smashed his right fist into the wall. Tears began to roll down his face. "They could die!" he exclaimed as he dropped to his knees. Gardevoir, letting her adoptive motherly instincts go to work knelt down beside him and held the boy. "_I can't stand the pain of losing them again."_

_"I know, I know," _Gardevoir said back to him. "_But never know what will happen till it happens."_

_"But still!"_

_"Relax, I'm sure they'll be fine!"_

_But..." _Alex started before Gardevoir cut him off.

_"Are you that unsure?" _Alex replied with a nod.

* * *

"Ash! May!" Blue exclaimed as she found her crush's future parents. She sat down next to them and began to enjoy her breakfast. Yellow soon followed. "So, did you hear? Alex came back last night!" Blue exclaimed.

"He left?" Ash asked.

"Obviously, otherwise, he wouldn't have left the two of you out of his sight!" Blue said as she practically face palmed.

"We thought he was just busy or something," May said.

"Usually he is, but I'm not surprised you didn't know, most of the people here didn't," Yellow said.

"What do you mean?" Ash asked.

"Only the super high-ups knew he left, yet alone where he was, and we only know he came back because of our parents," Blue said. Then Lucas showed up and sat on the other side of his sister.

"You'd think that the Resistance would restrict some of his movements considering who he is and all," Lucas muttered with a hint of disgust in his voice.

"And just what is that supposed to mean?" May asked, slightly offended by the comment.

"Well sure, he's a good battler, and even though I could probably beat him, you'd think that since Alex is the le..." Lucas started before Yellow cupped his mouth and Blue shot him a glare that would frighten a Gengar.

"He's the what?" Ash persisted.

"Nothing!" Lucas said with a nervous laugh as he rubbed the back of his head. "Anyway," he said trying to change the subject. "I'm going to go make sure my pokemon are in tip top shape!" he said as he rushed out of the cafeteria.

"Oh, don't worry about him, he's just jealous," Blue said.

Both Ash and May shared confused looks before finishing up their breakfast. They soon left with their pokemon beside them. As soon as they exited the building and walked into the courtyard, a figure jumped down from one of the tree branches.

"Halt!" he called out. Ash and May turned to see a figure dressed completely in white. He wore a white robe with matching gloves, boots, and pants. He wore a white hooded cape that covered his masked face. "You are Ash Ketchum, and May Maple, are you not?" he asked.

"Yeah! We are!" Ash exclaimed.

"But who are you?" May asked.

"I?" the figure started in a deep voice. "I am Ghost, now fight!" Ghost yelled as he threw two pokeballs in front of himself. The pokemon that appeared materialized into a Ninetails and a Leafeon.

Pikachu jumped off from Ash's shoulder, and Eevee from May's. The four pokemon glared at each other as did the trainers. Pickachu had sparks eminating from his cheeks while Eevee's tail was raised above her head. The Leafeon readied itself as if ready to pounce. The Ninetails spread her tails out and began to growl.

"Ninetails, use firespin! Leafeon use razor leaf!" Ghost commanded. Ninetails let loose a spiral of fire from its mouth as Leafeon shot razor sharp leaves down the center.

"Pikachu, use thunderbolt to stop that fire!" Ash commanded.

"Eevee, use shadow ball to block those leaves!" May followed up. The four attacks exploded when they collided. The sound of the blast quickly drew spectators to the seen.

* * *

"Did you hear that?" Gary asked as the sound of an explosion echoed through the lounge. Dawn nodded, and the two quickly exited the building to inspect the cause of the noise.

"Mom! Dad!" Blue's voice called as soon as she and Yellow saw her parents. The two parents stopped to let the girls catch up before continuing. They had to force their way through the large crowd that plugged up the entrance.

Once they were able to see the scene before them, they went wide eyed. In front of Ash and May stood a figure dressed in white clothing. He was battleing the two trainers and had them effectively pinned down. The figure's Ninetails had May's Eevee on her paws as it was forced to dodge a series of embers that were launched rapidly. The smoldering small flaming projectiles were getting more accurate as the fireing continued. Ash's Pikachu and the figure's Leafeon were swapping blows between leaf blades and iron tails.

"Ninetails, use extreme speed to get in close!" the figure ordered. Ninetails' speed drastically incresed as the distance between the two pokemon decreased.

"Eevee, use sand attack to try and throw it off!" May ordered. Eevee dug her paws and her tail into the ground and began to spin in order to kick up as much dirt and sand as she could.

"Dad, what's going on?" Blue asked from the sideline.

"Why am I not surprised," Dawn said as she crossed her arms. Gary smirked, but his smile quickly disappeared. Blue and Yellow looked even more confused. All through out the crowd, trainers were preparing to jump into the fray, but most of them were ordered to stand down by Max, Misty, and Brock. The rest of them settled down when Gary arrived.

* * *

May looked through the cloud of sand that her Eevee had kicked up and tried to find the Ninetails. Suddenly, a portion of the sand spread apart and Ninetails appeared right in front of her as it jumped from the ground to get a clean strike.

"Pikachu! Help May out and use quick attack on Ninetails!" Ash suddenly commanded. Pikachu raced to the Ninetails. Thanks to the electric mouse's incredible speed, he arrived instantly and bashed the fox pokemon to the side were it skidded a few meters on the ground.

'_That was close!' _May said to herself. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Ash sigh in relief, however, she also noticed Leafeon preparing a solarbeam attack. She realised that in order for Ash to save her, he left himself wide open to an attack, which Leafeon was taking advantage of. "Eevee!" May shouted. "Use shadow ball on Leafeon before it attacks!"

The shadow ball launched by May's Eevee just barely managed to connect with the solarbeam attck before it hit Ash. '_Just who is this guy?' _Ash asked himself.

"Leafeon, Ninetails, regroup!" Ghost ordered. The two pokemon rushed back to their trainer's side. Both of them had barely taken a hit, but Ash and May's pokemon were starting to get tired.

* * *

Lucas appeared right next to Yellow as he made his way through the crowd. He readied a pokeball and was about to jump in before his shoulder was caught by Max. "Let go! They need our help!" he barked as he struggled against Max's grip.

"No, they don't. This is their fight, otherwise Gary would have jumped in long ago," Max pointed out as he motioned towards Gary who stood with his arms crossed in front of his chest and a serious look plastered on his face like a statue. Dawn stood next to him in an almost perfectly similar form. Blue and Yellow, unlike the older two, fidgeted nervously. "Relax, and enjoy the battle," Max instructed.

"But Ash and May are-" Lucas started as he finally fought his way out of his teacher's grasp.

"Are perfectly able to fight their own battle," Max finished for him. Lucas growled as he forced himself not to intervene.

* * *

"Pikachu, use thunder shock to try and separate those two!" Ash commanded. The electric mouse sent a small shock wave straight towards the two opponents. Leafeon and Ninetails both jumped away to opposite sides. "Now use agility to get close to Leafeon and give it a taste of your iron tail!" Pickachu raced towards the Leafeon as his tail began to pulse a white glow.

"Leafeon counter with leafblade, Ninetails use sunny day!" Ghost commanded.

"Eevee, use quick attack on Ninetails!" May commanded.

Pikachu and Leafeon's tails connected with a loud metallic sound as sparks flew in all directions from the collision. Eevee rammed into Ninetails' chest just as it fired a ball of bright fire into the air, causing the tempreture to increase as the sun became brighter. Ninetails fell to one leg as the attack came before the fox pokemon could brace itself.

"Leafeon!" Ghost yelled. Leafeon abandoned Pikachu and took up a deffensive position between its team mate and it's trainer, and the opposing two pokemon.

"May," Ash started.

"Yeah, I get it," May finished.

"Pikachu, use volt tackle!"

"Eevee use shadow ball as soon as you get an opening!"

"Leafeon use solar beam!" Ghost ordered as Ninetails struggled to get back up on its feet. Thanks to Ninetails' sunny day technique, Leafeon didn't require as much time to charge the attack, and quickly launched the powerful beam of energy.

Pikachu began to charge through the beam, using volt tackle as a blade. Just before Pikachu landed a solid clean hit, Leafeon side stepped and hit the electric mouse with a leaf blade attack. A badly hurt Pikachu struggled to get back on its feet but was stopped as Leafeon put it's shining green tail just millimeters above the mouse as a warming.

Eevee used this chance and fired a powerful shadow ball at the verdant pokemon causing it to collapse just feet away from Pikachu. Both of them were too injured to continue. Ghost recalled the downed Leafeon, as Ash forced Pikachu into his pokeball before releasing him back in his arms.

"Ninetails, are you alright?" Ghost asked. The fox pokemon answered with an affirmative bark before it fell back into its battle stance. "Alright, use fire blast!" he continued. The fox pokemon let loose a powerful fire attack that took the shape of a stick figure as it approached.

"Eevee dodge and use sand attack to give yourself some cover!" May said. Eevee did as her trainer bid. The giant fire attack flew past and exploded on a rock that was originally behind Eevee, sending flames in all directions as they bounced off the boulder.

* * *

"This," Yellow started. "This is scary!"

"This is what a real battle out there is like," Dawn said.

"Every time, you run the risk of not coming back. Battles decide more than winning and losing, or determining whose pokemon are stronger," Gary started. "Out there, they are the difference between life and death."

"But, why?" Blue asked. "Why does it always come down to violence?"

"I wish I knew Emily, I wish I knew," Gary answered.

* * *

Ninetails was pretty beat up, and so was Eevee by this point. Both pokemon were breathing heavily, and were covered with dirt and bruises. '_Eevee can't take another hit,' _May told herself. "Ash, I could really use one of your last-minute strategies," she told Ash as he was attending to his Pikachu. Ash quickly surveyed the battle field.

'_Eevee is really hurt,' _Ash told himself as he winced his eyes. '_And Ninetails looks beat up to,' _he continued. "I got it!" he exclaimed. May gave him a confused look. "May, remember the terracotta contest?" he asked.

May smiled as she figured out his idea. "Eevee, use dig and make a series of holes!" Eevee quickly dug a hole and disappeared under ground.

"Ninetails, use tackle as soon as Eevee reamerges!" Ghost ordered. Once Eevee burst out of the ground, Ninetails tried to tackle it, but missed as Eevee quickly dug another hole. The process continued until there were several holes.

"Now Eevee, use shadow ball!" Several shadow ball attacks soared through the holes and began to swarm all around Ninetails as they tried to land a hit. Once all of the attacks missed, Ninetails stopped to take a breath. "Ok Eevee, lets rap this up!" May shouted.

"Ninetails, use extreme speed!" Ghost quickly ordered. Ninetails disappeared in a flash light as Eevee burst from the ground where the fox pokemon just was. Then, not even a split second later, Ninetails crashed into Eevee's side sending it to the ground.

"No! Eevee!" May shouted when Eevee faild to get back onto her feet. She returned the evolutionary pokemon to her pokeball as Ghost returned Ninetails to its.

Ghost shock his head as his gaze shifted to the ground. "Your not ready," he said just loud enough for Ash and May to hear.

"What was that!?" Ash yelled angrily.

* * *

Gary, like many others, relaxed a bit now that the battle was over. Almost everyone was shocked with how that ended. "There, see?" Max told Lucas. "Nothing to worry about," he continued as Dawn ushered the girls back inside.

"Are you kidding!? Ash and May just got beat! How is that nothing to worry about!?" Lucas shot back.

"You don't know who they just faced do you?" Max asked back. Lucas gave his teacher a confused look.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"Those who served in Goldenrod know who that really is," Max explained as he crossed his arms and turned back to the battlers with a smirk. Most of the spectators began to disperse now that the battle was over.

* * *

"Your not ready to fight Cipher," Ghost said. "Not yet at least. They will tear you apart." Ghost began to walk towards the two defeated teens. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a potion and began to spray the wounded pokemon with it. They watched as all the wounds healed up as if they were never there.

"Who taught you to battle like that?" Ash asked.

"You did," Ghost answered as he finished healing the pokemon.

"What do you mean?" May asked.

Ghost pulled his hood back with a sigh and took off the mask that hid his face.

"Alex!?" they both exclaimed.

"What was that all about!?" Ash yelped.

"If you wanted a battle, why didn't you just say so?" May asked.

"Would you have given the battle your all if you knew it was me?" Alex asked as his gaze shifted between the two of them. They both frowned and looked away. "I knew that in order truly test you, I couldn't let you know who I was."

"But whats with the get up?" Ash asked.

"Ghost, the mysterious crusader who took Orre and the Orange Islands from Cipher practically by himself," Gary started in a not so surprised tone as he made his way to the trio and their pokemon. Alex only smirked. "Who would have thought he would turn up here, right in front of our eyes and battle his future parents?" Gary teased. Both Gary and Alex broke out laughing.

Well, I had to see if these two were ready for action," Alex started as his smile faded away. "And you're not," he said as his gaze shifted back to Ash and May. "I saw alot of openings in your battle style. You focus too much on the obvious things, and not enough to everything else," the boy explained. They confused look on the two trainers made him continue.

"In a real battle, your opponant isn't going to try and knock out your pokemon, but rather get them out of the way so they can get a clean shot at you. When You had Eevee kick up that first sand screen, you helped me because she couldn't spot my Ninetails, who was aiming for you. Luckily Ash saw Ninetails and had Pikachu intercept her." Alex explained to May. May down at the ground in shame.

Then Alex turned to Ash. "When you tried to have Pikachu charge through the solar beam, he was taking serious damage the whole time, and not only that, but it was slowing him down, allowing Leafeon to counter attack with ease," he told the trainer. Ash pulled a regretful look as he shifted his view to Pikachu.

"Further more, your team work, though pretty good, could still use some work," Alex continued. "When Leafeon had Pikachu pinned, Eevee's shadow hurt Pikachu as well. But most importantly, you need to work on protecting yourselves! I had to call back Leafeon and Ninetails because they both had you two clean in their sights."

* * *

"(You need to protect your trainers better, you are their only hope of safety,)" Leafeon said to both Pikachu and Eevee.

"(If they get your trainers, your finished. They are your biggest prioriety,)" Ninetails added. "(Personal feelings will only lead to chaos on the battlefeild,)" the fox pokemon continued.

"(But!)" Eevee started.

"(What if the enemy has one of us pinned down?)" Pikachu asked.

"(Then it is necessary to go to each other's aid, but don't lose sight of your judgement,)" Leafeon said. "(Maximum cooperation is essential to success in any mission.)"

"(How long have you two been working together then?)" Eevee asked.

"(Several years,)" Ninetails answered.

"(Really? That's a long time,)" Pikachu said. The fox and verdant pokemon both nodded in agreement. Suddenly their trainers called to them.

* * *

Alex returned his two pokemon while Pikachu and Eevee took their usual spots on their perspective trainer's shoulders. "Hey wait," May started. "Where's Gardevoir?" she finished.

"Gardy is off making last minute preperations," Alex answered.

"Preparations for what?" Ash asked.

"For the trip," Alex answered casually. "Anyway, I have to make a stop at the lab, wanna come along?"

"Sure!" they both answered. With that the small family went off towards the pokemon reserve.

* * *

"So mom, what was that all about!?" Blue asked. Dawn rubbed her temples with one of her hands.

"Well, as you probably know, Ash and May volunteered for the operation to counter Cipher," Dawn started. The girls nodded in understanding. "However, Someone, not mentioning any names, didn't exactly approve of that so they decided to test them."

"And?" Yellow persisted.

"Well, they apparently failed the test," Dawn added.

"But!" Blue started. But Dawn cut her off.

"Don't you two have coordination practice today?"

"Umm, yeah?" Blue said weakly, fearing her mother's wrath. The two quickly left as Gary returned from outside.

"Alex went over board on them," he said with a sigh. The two of them began to make their way back to the lounge.

"I knew he would, but I can see why," Dawn replied. "Would you have fought them any differently if they were your parents?"

"No, I suppose not."

* * *

"Wow, this place is amazing!" Ash said as she gazed at the pokemon reserve. The pokemon were all enjoying themselves as they relaxed in the environment. Alex released all of his pokemon and watched as they ran off. Gardevoir was waiting for them in the shade under a tree.

"_Hi Gardy! Did you get everything ready?" _Alex asked the embrace pokemon as she molded her mind with his.

"_Yes, I did. How did they do?" _Gardevoir replied. Alex's smile faltered so Gardy went through his memories. "_Don't you think you were a bit hard on them? They put up a really good fight." _

_"Not good enough, Cipher would cut right through them like paper," _Alex responded. Gardy sighed but joined her trainer's side.

"So Alex," Ash started. "What kinds pokemon do you have here?"

"Um, well, there are lots here," Alex said as he began to give them a tour of the reserve. They made their way into a small forest. The trees were tall and the sun's light cut through gaps in between leaves making the light appear in pillars.

They stopped when they came upon what looked like a small clearing rear a small lake. Leafeon sat silently ontop of a hill as he watched the other pokemon in the clearing. The verdant pokemon turned his head towards the trainers as they came into sight before drifting his attention back to his post.

A little closer to the water's edge, Ninetails lay in the grass while giving her young Vulpix a bath. "Oh it's so cute!" May squealed as she tried to get closer, but Alex and Gardy both stopped her. At the same moment, Leafeon jumped down from his post and An Arcanine came up from behind Ninetails and her kit.

"They're protective," Alex said. "They all are over protective of the younger pokemon. They're all a family and protect each other," he finished with a smile on his face.

May understood the true intentions behind his words and smiled as well. Ash didn't quite get it.

* * *

**Yikes! I haven't updated in forever, so sorry if I kept you waiting. The story, after given much thought is going to longer than originally planned so please bear with me.**

**anyway, there is chapter 11, hope you enjoyed it. Feed back is always welcome!**

**comments, questions, suggestions, reviews, etc. ALL WELCOME!!!!!**


	12. Deep Breath Before the Plunge

**The Dark Reign of Cipher**

**Chapter 12**

After standing still for a few moments, Leafeon, and Arcanine let Alex, Ash, May, and Gardevoir approach the other pokemon. Alex sat down next to his Ninetails, as she looked up at her trainer. The fox pokemon gave her trainer a lick as he carefully picked up the young Vulpix, held it in his arms and began to pet it softly.

"It's so cute!" May said as she reached to pet it as well. The baby pokemon welcomed the touch as it rolled onto its back so the two trainers could rub its belly. Alex set the young kit back down next to its mother and watched as Ninetails gently picked the baby Vulpix up and carried it off to her den.

"So, are there any other pokemon here?" Ash ask as he continued to watch the pokemon in the clearing. May rolled her eyes at her boyfriend's obliviousness, as Gardevoir facepalmed. Alex shook his head slightly.

"Yes, there are many others all throughout the reserve. Come on, I'll show you," Alex said as he rose to his feet, and May followed suit. The four of them left the clearing and went back to traversing through the forest. Eventually they left the forest and came across a vast plain. The wind caused the grass and flowers to sway in the wind and the occasional tree's leaves to russle.

Alex showed them all over the reserve, showing them the rest of the pokemon and where they stayed. By the time the tour was over, the sun was beginning to settle ovver the horizon. The group made their way back to the cafeteria just in time to have dinner.

"So," Ash started. "Why can't we go with the rest of you guys?"

"Because, it's too dangerous," Alex answered.

"What do you mean it's too dangerous!?" Ash yelled out. Several others from other tables turned their heads towards the group before rturning to their own dinners.

"You'll only get in the way, you can't go," Alex continued.

"Then why are you going!?" May asked.

"Because I have to," Alex answered weakly. "I'm the only one who can break Cipher, no one else can do it."

"That's stupid!" May yelled. "We could help!"

"You can help by staying here, where it's safe," Alex said sternly.

"But!..." Ash started before he was cut off by Alex.

"You can't change my mind, I lost you two once, I don't want it to happen again," the boy said as he got up and left with his Gardevoir.

"I don't care what he says, I'm going!" Ash said confidently.

"Yeah! Besides, we're his parents, we have more authority than he does!" May agreed. The two of them finished their dinner and left to go to bed.

* * *

"Gary!" Alex yelled as he found his god father walking through the halls. The older man stopped and turned back towards the boy. "Is everything set for tomorrow?"

"Yeah, everything is set," Gary answered. "Are you going to allow Ash and May to come?"

"No," Alex answered sternly.

"Why?" Gary asked. "Afraid they well get hurt?"

"Yes, _or worse,_" Alex said to Gary and his Gardevoir.

"_Don't worry so much, it's not good for you," _Gardevoir advised.

"My decision stands, they don't go," Alex mumbled as he walked off. Gardevoir turned to Gary.

"_I'll talk to him," _she said. Gary nodded in approval. '_What has gotten into him recently? He's not himself lately,' _Gardevoir said to herself. The embrace pokemon quickly caught up to the boy and walked at his side.

"_What's wrong?" _she asked.

"_What do you mean?" _Alex responded with a confused face.

_"You haven't been yourself lately. Are you troubled?" _

_ "A little, I guess. It's just that...well," _Alex started.

"_You're afraid?" _

_ "...Yeah," _Alex said after contemplating the answer. '_I am afraid...,' _he admitted to himself.

The two of them kept walking until they reached the lab. Alex switch out his pokemon for the ones he felt were needed. '_Lets see, Gardy, Rayquaza, Dragonite, and who else?' _Alex said to himself as he went up and down the rows that contained all of his pokeballs. '_Can't be Ninetails, or Arcanine, they have families.' _Alex continued to go up and down the rows. _'Latios and Latias are good for recon, but not battling,'_ he continued. Finally he came to the last isle.

This row had no regular pokeballs, they were all ultra balls except for several master balls. Each one of the balls had a special mark inscribed on the top part. "These will do," Alex said as he reached for three of the balls and put them on his belt.

"_Are you sure?" _Gardevoir asked skeptically. She had been leaning up against the wall watching her trainer act like he was window shopping. "_Hopefully all they will need to is buy time."_

_ "And that is just what they're good at! One is as fast as lightning, one is powerful, and the other is balanced. Together they are a powerful team," _Alex said with a smirk. Gardevoir rolled her eys, but still gave a smile. Then the two of them left the lab.

They arrived back in Alex's room where the trainer fell onto his bed and stared at the ceiling. "Gardy, can you wake me up in a few hours?" he asked. Gardevoir nodded, and soon the boy was fast asleep.

'_Now maybe I can figure out what's really bothering him,' _Gardy thought to herself as she carefully slipped into Alex's subconciousness. She didn't get far though, his mental deffenses were to strong for even her get past. What made it even more strange, was normally the walls would fade and let her pass through, but this time they stood, strong, and inpregnable. '_Now this is odd,'_ Gardy said to herself as she withdrew from the boy's mind.

* * *

Ash and May sat in their room. The two beds were set next to each other, a bed stand inbetween the two. A large window was located adjacent from the television. In the corner of the room away from the door, stood a computer desk with a PC on it.

"Hey May," Ash started as he sat down on his bed. Pikachu jumped from his shoulder onto the bed.

"Yeah?" May asked as she sat down next to Ash. Eevee jumped out of her trainer's arms and sat next to Pikachu.

"How are we gonna be able to go with the others? I'm sure Alex will keep us in his sight till they leave," Ash said.

"Well," May started as she put a finger to her chin as she began thinking. "I guess we'll just have to cross that bridge when we get there!" May said energetically with a smile.

"Yeah, I guess so," Ash agreed with a smile. Then suddenly, the two of them heard a knock on the door. Ash got up and opened it only to find Dawn on the other side.

"Hey," she said as Ash stepped aside to let her in, and sat down on May's bed. "Ok, here's the scoop. Alex doesn't what you guys to go with us, for obvious reasons," Dawn started. "However, Gary and I have come up with an idea to let you guys come along anyway."

"Really!?" Ash exclaimed.

"Yeah, but here's the catch. One, Alex cannot find out you're there under any circumstance, and two, you'll have to be with either me or Gary at all times," Dawn said.

"That doesn't sound too bad," May said. Dawn smiled.

"Well then, get a good night's sleep. You'll need it," Dawn suggested as she left.

"Good night May," Ash said as he kissed May.

"Good night Ash," May added when they broke apart. They bpth went to their seperate beds and tucked themselves in. Ash reached over and turned the light off.

"(Good night Eevee,)" Pikachu said as he licked Eevee's cheek.

"(Good night Pikachu,)" Eevee said, returning the guesture.

* * *

Gary stood out on the landing pad watching as the large fleet of large transports began their rapid desent towards the ground. Their large flood lights cut through the darkness, as the swift spinning of the blades from their hovering pads created a powerful gust. The gust casued the grass in the area to twist and bend with the wind. Gary's hair swayed with the gust as he awaited the lead transport to finish its landing.

As soon as the transport was on the ground several figures began to file out of the craft. Most of the figures wore similar uniforms and saluted to Gary. Then, another figure stepped out. He wore a black long sleved shirt under a purple jacket. He also wore dark gray pants. He had purple hair and had a stern face. He gave a quick salute to Gary, who returned it before he eased up. The rest of the troops remained still.

"Paul, thank you for joining us this evening," Gary said to the newcomer. "How's the front?"

"It's been odd, almost as if Cipher gave up. We marched right into Jubilife City with barely any resistance," Paul answered in a deep monotone voice. Paul's men continued to file out of the bulky jet like transports as they continued to land.

"I'm not surprised," Gary admitted.

"So," Paul started. "Are the rumors true?"

"What rumors?" Gary asked.

"Are Ash and May really here?"

"Yes they are, and Alex won't let them far out of his sight," Gary said with a sigh. Paul began to chuckle, causing Gary to look at him strangely. "What's so funny?"

"He's acting like a parent over those two, it's really ironic."

"Are you surprised?"

"No, I can understand his motives," Paul said with a smirk. "Most of us would do the same for him. As I recal, when word first arrived about Ash and May's murder, you spent months trying to find Alex, hell, many of us did," Paul said as turned to face the rest of his men. Most of the transports had landed, but a few were still up in the air.

"But he knew how to hide well, none of us could find him," Gary said with a shrug. Once all the men filed out of the transport they all gathered up into a large block and saluted towards Gary and Paul. "Ok Paul, you guys get to bunk in the barracks at Sector C, that ok with you?"

"Not a problem," Paul replied. Gary nodded and made his way back inside. "Listin up!" Paul shouted to his soldiers. "Follow me to the barracks, then you can rest, but I want the trip to be silent, others are trying to sleep, so if I hear a single peep from any of you, your running ten laps around the Island! Undersatnd?"

"Sir yes sir!" they all shouted in unison. Paul nodded and led the way to the barracks. The flood lights from the transports died out, one by one.

* * *

Once all the soldiers had left and the lights were allshut off, Alex, who had been hiding in a nearby tree with his Gardevoir, jumped down to the ground. He wore a white combat jacket similar to one he wore before his first time jump in the out skirts around Goldenrod City. He carried his backpack which was full of supplies and provisions. Celebi had joined them, and the time jumping pokemon was casually floating around its two companions, oblivious to the tension on their faces.

"Ok, Celebi, are you ready?" Alex asked, getting the Celebi's attention. Celebi nodded and not even deconds later, they cut through the flow of time. Alex looked around and observed the island that would some day become the Resistance Headquarters. The vast forest seemed to have spread all over the island, and the mountain that the base would be built into was all that could be seen over the tree tops.

"Thanks Celebi," Alex said with a smile.

"_You should probably head back now, you'll need your strength later," _Gardevoir advised. Celebi nodded with a smile and waved good bye before he faded away. "_Shall we be going then?" _she asked hypothetically. Her trainer had already reached for Rayquaza'a master ball.

"You sure you don't want to ride in your ball Gardy?" Alex asked. The embrace pokemon stubernly shook her head. "Alright, don't say I didn't offer," Alex said with a shrug of his shoulders. The two of them got on the large green dragon as it waited for the two to get on. Alex grabbed one of the two horns on the dragon's head for support while Gardevoir grabbed the other and also used her psychic abilities to stablise herself.

Then, they took to the sky, heading north, towards Sinnoh. The sun began to rise over the watery horizon.

"Rayquaza, head for the clouds, It'll give us more cover!" Alex yelled over the gale that roared past them. The ozone dragon responded responded with an afirmative roar and beagn to climb to a higher altatude.

* * *

The sun began to creep over the horizon as Ash began to stir from his sleep. He turned to face his girl friend and watched as she had a peaceful expression on her face. The sun shined through the window giving her an angelic look. The trainer then turned to the end of his bed where he saw Pikachu and Eevee curled up together sleeping blissfully.

Ash got out of his bed and got ready as carfeully and silently as possible. Once he finished he made his way over to May and gently kissed her cheek causing the brunnete to purr contently.

May woke up and yawned as she streched. She then got out of bed and prepared to get ready for the day. On her way to the bathroom, she strached both Pikachu and Eevee behind the ears, effectivly waking the both of them up. Eevee, like her trainer stearted off with a yawn and a strech, while Pikachu looked around the room with sleepy eyes before shaking it off.

The four of them left the room together once they were all ready. They made their way to the cafeteria and enjoyed their breakfast. After that they made their way to the training grounds to get more training done.

"Ready for tomorrow?" Ash asked, the excitment evident in his voice.

"Deffinatly!" May answered, she was just as excited as Ash. The two quickly found sparing partners ang began to battle.

* * *

"Woo, wait a minute. What do you mean he's gone?" Gary practically yelled.

"I'm telling you dad, it's like Alex just disappeared!" Blue answered. "None of us have seen him, and he's not in his room, or the reserve."

"That idiot," Gary cursed under his breath. '_he's going to get himself killed!' _ "Thank you Emily, just make sure you don't spread the word, the last thing we need is a blow to the troop moral."

"Ok dad, by the way," Blue started as she began to figet with her fingers. "Why exactly can't I go with you guys tomorrow?"

"For the same reason Alex said Ash and May couldn't go."

"And that is?"

"Your not ready, it'll be far too dangerous for you," Gary said as he turned away from his daughter.

"But!" Blue tried to protest.

"This isn't open for debate!" Gary scolded. Blue cringed at her father's voice, and she let out a defeated sigh. "And I better not catch you trying to sneak yourself along this time," Gary said as Blue began walking out of the lounge. She cringed when Gary warned her.

* * *

"Sir!" a soldier dressed in white armor said. "Contact, one hundred clicks heading from south by south-east!" the soldier continued. Darious walked over to the Peon soldier and took a look at the radar screen. True to the man's words, a small read dot appeared just off the shore from the Sinnoh Region.

Darious scowled and turned around to face the Grand Master. "Sir," Darious spoke. "It appears that that brat is back up on his feet," he continued.

"He has been for a while now," the Grand Master spoke. He then turned to Drew, who he kept with him more than often. "Come Drew, and I will show you just how far even a "hero" can fall."

Drew nodded and began to follow the leader of Cipher to the entrance to the building. "Darious!" the leader spoke. "You're in charge until I return." Darious responded with a bow.

Once outside, the Grand Master approached one of the heavily musculer soldiers who had snapped to attention. He was dressed in the same white armor as the rest, but had golden ribbions. "I want an entire task force to be deployed at the pitiful excuss of a pokemon league. We are going to have some un invited guests soon, so lets give them a good welcome."

"Yes sir! At once!" the soldier said as he snapped to attention.

"Good," was all the Grand Master replied with before he turned and made his way to a transport. By the time he and Drew had arrived and taken their seats, a large amount of soldiers had gathered around their transport and many others and began to file on board. Once the last soldier boarded their transport, the piolet started the pre-flight take off test, and moments later, the entire craft was taking off.

* * *

Alex motioned fot Rayquaza to take a break as they landed on the outskirts of Sunnyshore City. "You deserve a break, getting here from home in just a few hours must have worn you out. "I guess we're going on foot from here," Alex said to his Gardevoir as he began to walk towards the city.

"_You should relax and try to take in the sights, they won't remain this wonderful," _Gardevoir suggested as she gazed at the city they enetered.

All the buildings were built on cliffs carved out of the bay that the city was built in. The different levels were all connect by a series of strong thick pexiglass bridges. All the buildings had solar panals installed on their roofs. "_This town is deffinatly eco-friendly!" _Gardevoir exclaimed happily.

"_...Yeah," _Alex responded, almost distantly.

"_Everything alright? are you ok?" _

_ "I'm alright Gardy, thanks," _Alex responded as he gave the embrace pokemon a forced smile. She didn't buy it, she could feel the boy's stree and anxiety wash over her own emotions through their bond.

"_Maybe _you _should take a break as well."_

_ "No, I'm fine."_

_ "No, no your not! You're going to take a break," _Gardevoir comanded. She directed her trainer to the Pokemon Center. They got a room key and Gardy forced Alex to rest, wheither it be by sleep or meditation. "_You need to calm down, your way too stressed."_

_ "But I'm fine!" _Alex stressed. "_See Gardy? Perfectly fine!"_

_ "And I'm a Gallade," _Gardevoir said sarcastically. She put her trainer under one of her hypnosis spells so he could rest, wheither he wanted to or not.

* * *

Celebi was flying around the trees in the reserve, enjoying its surroundings. The time bug continued to zip from tree to tree, rock to rock, and river to river. However, it came to an abrupt halt when two figures appeared before it, almost as if from thin air.

One wore a purple kimono and had long silver hair. He had a beard that was the same color as his hair. He had a staff in one of his hands and looked very old. Next to him was a woman dressed in a pink kimono who looked just as old. She also had silver hair like the man, but she didn't have a walking stick.

"(Hey Guys! It's been a while!)" Celebi exclaimed happily.

* * *

"So are all the transport resupplied and refueled?" Dawn asked.

"Yes Miam!" the lead piolet responded.

"Good, cause we're leaving in the morning, at the crack of dawn."

"We'll have the engines primed!"

"That's what I like to hear, as you were then."

"Yes Miam," the piolet said again before rturning to his craft. Dawn began to make her way to the training field to get some training done when she noticed some one that she hadn't noticed in a while.

"Paul? Is that you?" Dawn asked as she approached the purple haired trainer.

Paul turned to face her. He had the same emotionless expression that he always had. "Well who else would it be?" he asked. Dawn sighed.

"Still as stuck up as ever I see, any way, are you and your troops ready for tomorrow?"

"We were ready last night, right now I sent them to the training field so they don't slack off."

"Mind if I join you? I was heading there myself."

"Not at all," Paul responded. After a short distance of walking, Paul asked, "So how are the kids doing?"

"Hmm?" Dawn asked.

"Emily and Alex," Paul clarified.

"Well, Emily is just as much as a trouble maker as she normally is, but Alex, well..." Dawn started, looking for the best way to describe her god son's recent change of demeanor. "He hasn't been himself recently."

"Care to explain?" Paul edged on.

"Well, he seems more emotional, and can snap for the simplist things. His anger is getting quite agressive and easier to spark, and his worry for his parents can't be the only cause," Dawn explained. Paul looked deep in thought for a moment.

"Well, I don't know if it fits, but when we took Jubilife back, we found this in a captured base," Paul said as he handed Dawn a datapad. Dawn took it and began to read the files until she stopped abruptly and her eyes went wide. "What, what is this!?" she exclaimed.

"I don't think it'll be a good idea for Alex to go on this mission," Paul said. Dawn nodded.

"Thanks for the heads up Paul!" Dawn said as she ran off towards Gary's lounge/office. '_Gary, I swear to Arceus, if aren't there...' _she warned.


	13. Sync

_**The Dark Reign of Cipher**_

_**Chapter 13**_

"Gary!" Dawn shouted as she practically crashed into her husband. "Where's Alex?" she asked in a worried tone. Dawn sweat dropped when she saw Gary give her a nervous laugh as he scratched the back of his head. "Don't tell me..." she started.

"I'm afraid so, Emily told me," The brunette said with a sigh. "Why'd you need to see him anyway?"

"Because of this," Dawn said as she thrusted the datapad into her husband's hands.

"Huh?" Was all Gary could say as he glanced at the hand held computer screen. He began to read it, and raised and eyebrow after he was halfway through it. He then re-read the documents to make sure he didn't miss anything. "Well, I don't see anything to be worried about," he said in a mocking tone.

"Gary!" Dawn scolded as she hit the man upside the back of his head.

"I was being sarcastic!" Gary said to his deffence. He was rewarded with another smack.

"This is serious!" Dawn stressed. Gary began to lead her into the lounge dubbed "his office" where Dawn crashed down in one of the chairs. "Gary, what are we going to do about this?" she asked weakly.

Gary clicked a butten on his poketch bringing up his communicator. "All Team leaders are to report to my office now! We have a meeting to conduct!" he barked into the device.

* * *

Max and Paul were watching as Ash and May trained with Yellow and Blue. They had just recieved an urgent order from Gary, leaving with the two team leaders with confused looks on their faces.

"Well, that's just a bit odd," Max said simply.

"I'm pretty sure I know what this is about," Paul lazily. "So lets get going. I believe this is important." Max responded with a nodd before turning his attention to the battlers.

"You guys, we have to go for now, so keep up with your training!" he yelled so they would hear him. With that he turned and left to follow Paul who had already left.

The group stopped battling almost instantly. "What do you suppose that was all about?" Yellow asked.

"I don't know, but I intend to find out. Dad doesn't randomly have people assemble like that," Blue said.

"Blue, don't tell me your thinking of what I think you're thinking of," Yellow said with a sigh.

"Ok, I won't!" Blue replied energetically with a grin. "You guys wanna come? This will deffinatly be interesting," she said to Ash and May who looked totally confused at the moment.

"Sure!" Ash said energetically.

"Why not?" May added with a smile.

"Then lets go!" Blue cheered as she pointed in the general direction of where Max and Paul went. Yellow let out another sigh while Ash and May both sweatdropped. All together as a group they used stealth to stay hidden while they followed the two leaders from a safe distance.

* * *

Gardevoir sighed as she watched over her sleeping trainer. To say that she was concerned, was an understatement. '_This can't all be stres related,' _she told herself. She recalled part of her training with Mistriss Bella back in Agate Village.

* * *

_ Gardevoir and Bella sat at the base of a small pond that lead to the large waterfall that poured down into the center of the village. The two were meditating, and could feel the pressence of every living thing within the village, the people, the plants, and the pokemon. Suddenly, Bella broke out of her trance, causing Gardevoir to break out of hers with a confused expression on her face. Bella let out a sigh._

_"Now Gardevoir, If Alex ever starts to act strangly, or stops being himself, make him rest, forcibly if you have to. The training that Euegan is putting him through will shake him up a bit, so you'll always have to pay attention," Bella instructed. _

_ Gardevoir nodded. "_I understand that, but I still don't get why I can't be there with him, it makes no sense,"_ the embrace pokemon said._

_ "You cannot, you will only distract him. That is why Euegan took him deep into the forest, so he cannot be distracted," Bella said suddenly. "His training requires the up most concentration, or else it will have dangerous reprocautions."_

_ Gardevoir sighed and tried to strech her conciousness out to find her trainer. He did so in slow steady manner so that it would so obvious. Bella smirked, and the embrace pokemon realised she was caught._

_ "Nice try, but I'm wiser than I look," was all she said, as Gardevoir felt herself being blocked from the entire forest. _

_ "_How di-?" _Gardevoir started before she was cut off._

_ "When you meditate, you gain control and understanding of your abilities, and with that you can harness it and manipulate it. That is how you can use your phsychic powers, but I thought you already knew that?"_

_ "_Yes, but I mean, how are you able to cover the entire forest, and block me out at the same time?"

_ Bella couldn't help but giggle. "Give me some credit dear, I'm stronger than I look, and your trainer isn't too shaby either, he has alot of potential, as do you." The elder then closed her eyes, as if concentrating on something. "Ah!" she said suddenly. "It seems that they are done for now, lets go join them shall we?" Bella asked with a smile. _

_ The embrace pokemon rose egarly with a bright smile on her face. The two of them left their meditation spot and made their way to the entrance to the woods. The cave that connected the village to the forest looked like a giant tree long made of stone and dirts. a small creek flowed to one side, and some grass on another. _

_ After a few minutes of walking deep into the forest, they came across Euegan with his arms folded across his chest. A short distance behind him stood Alex, using his Master's walking stick as a support beam. He struggled to stand even with the walking stick, and he wabbled dangerously with every step. His breathing was raspy and dry. The boy looked like he was ready to drop, as if he ran the entire distance of Orre, twice without stopping. _

_ Bella walked past Euegan, but gave him a glance as if she caught a message, but Gardevoir paid no heed to it, for she was concerned with her trainer._

_ "_Look at you! Not even done with your first day of training here, and you already look its been a week!" _Gardevoir scolded playfully. Alex forced a smirk._

_ "_Master Euegan's a slave driver,"_Alex responded."_What about you Gardy, what did you and Mistriss Bella do?" _he asked._

_ "_Just going over basics again_," the embrace pokemon said. _

* * *

Gardevoir shifted her gaze back to her trainer. '_That wasn't all that long ago, but I thought he already sdjusted to the technique,' _she thought.

"Uhh, not cool Gardy," Alex said as he awoke from the hypnosis. He rubbed his eyes open, and shook his head, causing his messy brown hair to shift around before settling back into place. "Thanks," he said as he flashed her a smile, which she graciously returned.

_"We should be going if you are feeling better then," _Gardy said regreatably. Alex let out a sigh as he rose from the bed. He turned to look out the window, the sun was almost under the horizon.

"Uh, Gardy? How long was I out?" Alex asked.

"_Just a few hours, remember, we're in Sinnoh now."_

"Oh, yeah right," Alex said with a nervous laugh as he scratched the back of his head. "Well, lets get going." Gardevoir agreed with a nod.

They left the pokemon center and made their way to the docks. They approached the shore and found boat shop.

"Excuse me sir," Alex said as he approached the counter. A heavily tanned man wearing a blue vest and swiming trunks manned the counter. He had black dreglocks and wore sunglasses.

"What can I do for ya sunny?" the shop keeper asked.

"How much is it for a boat to the league?" Alex asked.

"But, sunny, the league doesn't take place for a few more months," the keeper replied.

"Yeah I know, but this is important," Alex said persistantly.

"Alright, alright!" the man said. "It will be $45."

Alex quickly paid the man. "Now sunny, your gonna have to wait till tomorrow, the seas can be rough at night," the keeper said. Alex just sighed depressingly.

* * *

"Ok, Gary, what's this all about?" Brock asked as Max shut the door once the last leader arrived. Gary sat at his desk he kept in the room. His hands were clasped together on the desk and were holding his head up. Dawn sat in the chair next to him.

The others were all spread out throughout the room. Max was leaning up against the door making sure there weren't any eavesdroppers. Brock stood inbwtween two bookshelves facing Gary. Tracy and Misty sat together on one couch. Paul sat in a chair with his hands in his pockets.

"Theere was a certain bit of information brought to my attention just a short while ago," Gary said as he motioned towards the datapad. "And it turns out, that this "invasion" that Cipher is planning is just a ploy."

Almost everyone gasped in shock. "Then what is it about?" Misty asked.

"It's a trap, they're trying to capture their "test subject" that has conveniantly for them, left already," Gary said. "So therefore, I have called you here to announce that this is a full-scale rescue operation."

"For who?" Brock asked.

"Take a guess," Paul said coldly, earning a glare from Brock.

* * *

"Can you guys hear what their saying?" Blue asked as she pressed an ear up against the door. The others were in similar positions, but all shook their heads.

"I wonder what they're talking about," Ash wondered. May nodded in agreement.

"Shhh!" Blue hushed as she stuck her tounge out as she tried to hear the conversation.

* * *

"Ok, so how can we be sure of this?" Misty asked as the group continued to elaborate.

"We can't, we can only assume the worst," Gary answered.

"Ok, so assuming, that this was the case, where is Alex now? shouldn't he be under guard?" Tracy asked.

"That's the problem," Dawn said. "He dissappeared either last night, or this morning."

"You're kidding right?" Brock asked.

"Nope," Dawn said as she shook her head.

"So what are we going to do?" Max asked.

Gary turned towards Tracy. "Tracy, could you somehow find a way to boost Celebi's abilities?"

"Yeah probably, why?" Tracy answered.

"Good, you have till night fall then," Gary said. He turned to the rest of the group. "Then we're moving out, same formation, same plan as before, only now its a rescue operation. If you find the enemy, engage, but don't start a major skirmish."

Everyone else nodded, and Gary dissmissed all of them.

* * *

Alex, and Gardevoir were staying at the pokemon center, but the young trainer stood out on the beach, watching as the moon slowly sank in the west, and the early rays of sunlight came from the east.

'_There it is, the Sinnoh Stadium,' _Alex said to himself as he turned his gaze over to an island off in the distance. '_That's where this will all end,' _he continued as he clenched his fists.

"_Alex?" _a voice said in his head. The boy turned around to see his Gardevoir standing behind him. "_You didn't sleep last night, did you?"_

_ "Could fall asleep, so I came out here instead," _Alex answered. '_More like I wasn't allowed to sleep,' _he thought to himself.

Gardevoir sighed as she tried to mingle their minds together, such was an old habit. However, like she always had recently, his mind was sealed off behind his defensive walls. '_Now i'm getting sick of this!' _she thought. "_Alex, what's wrong, and don't even try to say you're ok!" _

Alex sighed and turned away, back to the ocean. "I feel like I'm losing myself Gardy, I don't know what to do about it," Alex addmitted.

_"Just do what your instincts tell you to do, just like you always have," _Gardevoir replied.

'_Not so easy when my instincts are fighting against me_,' Alex said to himself. "Anyway, we should probably go find the boatman, its dawn and I think we sould get there as soon as possible." The two of them went back to the boat house, with Gardevoir watching her trainer with worried eyes.

'_He's never been this scared before,' _ she thought.

* * *

Tracy and Misty worked viligantly around the lab trying to produce an amplifier for Celebi, while Lucas and Yellow helped where ever they could. "This is getting us no where!" Misty exclaimed sadly.

"If only we had a medium that could work in sinc with Celebi, but I don't know what would work," Tracy thought out loud.

"Wait! That's it!" Tracy suddenly exclaimed, frightening his family members. "It has been be in sinc!"

"What are you getting at dad?" Lucas asked.

"Think about it, why are fire types so good with fire attacks?" Tracy asked with a knowing tone.

"Cause their fire types?" Yellow responded.

"But what difference does that make?" Tracy inquired.

"I get it, they're in sinc!" Misty exclaimed. "Water types can preform water type attacks just as easily as fire types can with fire type attacks. But its almost imposible for each other to learn their opposite attacks because they contrast with each other," Misty explained. Tracy nodded.

"So instead of trying to make something that probably isn't in sinc, we need to find something that is," Tracy added.

"Ok, so what could possibly be in sinc with Celebi?" Lucas asked.

"Think about it, what other pokemon has the ability to traverse time?" Tracy asked.

"Dialga?" Yellow suggested.

"Exactly!" Tracy exclaimed.

"So what does this have to do with any of this?" Lucas asked.

"What's Alex's most prized possession?" Misty asked.

"His amulet, why?" Yellow said.

"Who made it?" Tracy added.

"Some wack job jewler?" Lucas suggested.

"No, Dialga made it, or at least that's what theories say," Tracy concluded.

"So you want to try and use the amulet as a medium?" Lucas asked.

"Yes!" Tracy exclaimed.

"But dad, there's one problem, Alex isn't here, and he took the amulet with him," Yellow said.

"Maybe, but who did he get it from?" a voice said from behind the four of them. They all turned to see Brock.

"Brock? What are you doing here?" Misty asked.

"Thought it would help if I lended a hand. Anyway, who gave Alex the amulet?" Brock said.

"His," Lucas started, but Yellow cut him off.

"May!" she exclaimed. The three adults nodded. "I'll go get her!" Yellow exclaimed before charging out the door.

* * *

"Sir, we'll be arriving within the next hour or so," a voice said over the loud speaker. Drew shifted a little bit.

They had been crammed on board the air craft longer than he expected, the crafts were slower than they appeared. The soldiers anboard showed little to no emotion, not that much of it could be seen under their helmets.

The Grand Master looked as if he'd been in a meditative trace the whole trip, he hadn't moved from his seat the hole flight.

* * *

"Ok, so why do you need my amulet?" May asked sleepily. She was still in her pajamas, but was still dressed appropriatly enough.

"To see if it could work as a medium for Celebi, so we can all go back at the same time, instead of having a slow deployment," Tracy answered.

"Uh, ok?" May replied with a yawn as she rubbed one of her eyes. She took off the amulet from around her neck, and handed it to Tracy.

They all stood back and watched as Tracy set the diamond amulet into a holder. "Ok, so if this works," Tracy started as he walked over to a laser projecter. "Then the been fired from here will be amplified by the amulet.

They all held their breath as Tracy flipped the switch. A green beam fired from the projecter into the pendant. The result was incredible, the beam was magnified at least tenfold. Once it hit the amulet, it reflected all over the room behind it, as if it were a disco ball.

"Now to tell Gary," Misty said as she left.

"I'm ready for a nice long nap," Yellow said as she collapsed into a chair. Sunlight began to pour in through the windows as the sun rose over the horizon. "You've got to be kidding me," she whinned. "We've been up all night!"

* * *

Alex eagerly stood on the small boat, waiting for the driver to start the engine. As soon as they made their way out of the harbor, a large fleet of air crafts soared over head towards the lone island. A look of dread spread across the faces of Gardevoir and the driver, but Alex's face showed rage.

"Woh! Looks like trouble pal, ya sure ya wanna be head'n that way?" The driver asked. Alex only reached for his belt and pulled a pokeball that he juggled in one of his hands. "Oh! I get it! You're one of them underground police agents , aren't ya?" he asked.

"...Yeah, I guess you could say that," was all Alex could say.

"Well, I guess we should be goin them!" the driver replied cheerfully. The boat soon came into open water, where they began to speed towards the island that the ships were headed to.

* * *

**Chapter 13, wow, it really has come far.... part one of this story is almost over, it has an epic twist coming up so stay tuned! ^.^**

**Anyway, feedback is appreciated, so feel free to tell me what you think!**

**Comments, Questions, thoughts, etc. ALL FEEDBACK WELCOME!!!!**


	14. Beginning of The End

_**The Dark Reign of Cipher**_

_**Chapter 14**_

The final approach to the island was filled with an erie silence. The boat driver kept his thoughts to himself as he steered the small boat closer to the island. Alex still stood at the head of the boat, glaring at the landing crafts as they slowly descended to the stadium. Alex's Gardevoir stood right behind him.

"Alright, this is far enough, we can take it from here. You should turn back before they find you," Alex said to the boat driver. The boat driver blinked in confusion at the young trainer's words. "All right Gardy, you know the drill," Alex said to the embrace pokemon.

Gardevoir huffed at him as she was enveloped in a red light and disappeared into her pokeball. The trainer turned his attention back towards the island before diving from the boat into the ice cold water.

"Crazy kid," the boat driver mumbled as he waited a minute before turning around and headed back to the harbor.

As Alex swam through the cold water to the island, he saw schools of Magikarp, Goldeen, Horsea, and even Feebass. He took note of their swimming patterns and realized that they were just now making it back out into open waters as the more prededorous pokemon went back to their dens to sleep. Off in the distance, a herd of Wailmer and Wailord swam in the deeper waters.

Eventually he made his way to the rocky island cliff side. As Alex stepped onto the rocks, Gardevoir burst from her ball and walked along side the boy. "_They didn't spot you, did they?"_ Gardevoir asked. Alex shook his head. The embrace pokemon sighed in relief and went to using her psychic powers to dry her trainer's clothes.

The two of them continued along the rocky coastline. Alex noticed that his head began to hurt, but he didn't let it show. Once He found a suitable spot, he started climbing.

"_What are you doing?" _the embrace pokemon asked.

"_We can't go up the main path, They'd expect that. So I'm going a different way," _Alex answered. As the boy continued to climb, he stopped on a small rocky outcrop that had, over time formed into a small cliff. Gardevoir teleported the distance from the ground to her trainer to join him.

"_We could always teleport," _Gardevoir suggested.

"_We could," _Alex confirmed. _"But I know how much it tires you out to teleport with someone else, and I would much rather have you at your best," _he added with a smile. Gardevoir sighed in defeat.

* * *

Gary had been up and about all night, so by the time Dawn had woken up and found that her husband wasn't in bed, she exactly where to look for him. As she opened the door to the lounge that was Gary's office, she was shocked to find him not in it.

"Where did he go now?" Dawn asked herself. As she left the building, she found her husband, sitting on a rock watching the sunrise. She walked over and sat down next to him. "You all right?" she asked as she wrapped her arms around his shoulders.

"I-I don't know," Gary mumbled. Dawn gave him a curious look. "It's just that, sometimes I feel like there's more to this war than we know," he said. "And that data pad didn't help a single bit. I know Ash and May knew _something_; they had to! Why else would they have fled?" he continued.

"What do you mean?" Dawn asked.

"This has been bugging me for years. Why would they have fled? This island is a fortress; it could withstand any kind of attack. Even more, they took an entire regiment with them. It was as if they were looking for something," Gary said.

"I think," Dawn started before a small smile appeared on her face. "I think that you're over thinking this, and that you should have gotten some sleep."

Gary chuckled. "Yeah, you're probably right," he said. The brunette rose to his seat. "Well, I guess it's time to mobilize, Alex won't last long before he gets into some kind of situation."

"True, I still wonder where the reckless side came from," Dawn added as she rose to her feet as well.

"Oh, that's easy, from both of them!" Gary said, causing both to laugh. "Right, well, we best get to it then," he said once the laughing died down. Dawn nodded in agreement.

* * *

As Ash woke up with a yawn, so did his faithful Pikachu. The raven haired trainer turned to the bed next to his and saw May sleep peacefully. Ash smiled at the sight before getting up and went into the bathroom. Pikachu followed close behind.

The sound of the bathroom door closing woke Eevee. The small evolution pokemon's ears perked up as she slowly rose to her feet.

With the sudden loss of warmth against her body, May woke up. The brunette coordinator yawned and stretched before she adjusted her green bandana before getting up and checking the time.

When Ash walked out of the bathroom, ready for the day, May walked in, with Eevee following her. Once the group was done getting ready for the day, they left the bedroom and made their way to the cafeteria for some breakfast, they knew they would need it.

They found Blue, Yellow, and Lucas already waiting for them. "Morning guys," Ash said. Yellow responded with a warm smile, Lucas with a nod, but Blue wasn't paying attention. She was too busy staring off into space.

"Um, Blue?" Yellow said to get her best friend's attention.

"Huh? Oh! What's up?" Blue asked. "Hey Ash! Hey May!" Blue said with a wave.

"Off in dream mode again?" Yellow asked with giggle, cause Blue to glare at her.

"No, I was just thinking. Actually Yellow, I'm surprised you're even up this early," Blue said.

"We were up all night helping mom and dad with their stupid magnifier thingy-ma-do," Lucas answered.

"It's not stupid!" Yellow contradicted. "It'll help Celebi move all of us at once!"

"Oh yeah!" May said as she remembered the device. "I hope my amulet really makes a difference."

* * *

'_Nearly there,'_ Alex said to himself as he got closer to the ledge just a few more feet above him. As he brought his foot up to the next rock, it gave loose and he turned his end just enough to be able to see the rock tumble all the way down the cliff and crash into the waves close to a hundred yards below him.

"_Be careful!" _Gardevoir told him, but he already knew that.

"_Gardy, can you scan the top of this ledge for me?" _Alex asked. Below him, Gardevoir nodded her head, and focused her psychic powers to locate anyone above her trainer.

_"It's all clear!" _she told him.

"Good," Alex muttered under his breath. He forced himself up and over the ledge and kneeled on the grass to take a breather. He shifted his gaze towards where the stadium would be, on the other side of the mountain. '_There's no way I can climb over that,'_ he admitted to himself. Alex turned his attention to the road that was just visible beyond the large group of trees and bushes that hid his presence. He could hear the footsteps of patrol units going back and forth. '_that way won't work either.' _

Alex continued to look around until he spotted a small cave. '_Bingo!' _he thought with a smirk.

Gardevoir teleported to his side just as Alex began to hunt through his bag for a flashlight.

* * *

"Ok, here's how this will go," Gary started as he stood before the team leaders. "Dawn and I are leading the Sinnoh group. So, Max, Paul, you two are on the Hoenn team. Misty, Tracy, you have Kanto, and Brock, Richie, you two get Johto," Gary finished. "Any questions?" he asked to which no one responded. "Good! We're gone in 15!" he ordered.

The group quickly dispersed and went back to the landing zone, where all of the landing crafts sat waiting. As Gary walked out of the tent, he saw Dawn waiting for him.

"You think he went to Sinnoh, don't you?" she asked.

"I know he did," Gary answered.

"Then why scatter the attack groups?" the blunette asked.

"To cover my bases, just incase Cipher spread they're forces out. That way, they won't know which group is the main group. Plus, if we get ambushed, then there's still hope for reinforcements," Gary answered. Dawn sighed in defeat.

"Tracy has the amplifier all set, all we need is a go signal,' Dawn said.

"Thank you Dawn," Gary said as he kissed his wife.

* * *

Blue, Yellow, Lucas, Ash, and May, along with their pokemon looked across the field as it was covered with the large landing crafts. They looked like jets and helicopters combined, and on each of the wings, they had colored stripes. The stripes were blue, red, green, or yellow. Although they didn't have as much armor as the Cipher crafts did, they were defiantly much faster.

"Look!" Blue exclaimed. "There's blue team! Dad always leads blue team!" Blue continued as she made her way over to the blue squadron.

"Blue! Wait!" Yellow exclaimed as she followed after Blue. Ash and May both shrugged and followed them. Lucas shook his head and followed suite.

Once on board the crafts, Blue lifted a floor panel. "Quick! Get inside!" she ordered. They all got in and Blue closed the panel back over their heads. "These rooms are used as mobile emergency rooms," Blue explained as she gestured to the room they were in.

There was a single bright light on, and the group was surrounded by shelves and drawers filled with medical supplies and equipment. Up against the wall were three stretchers. The compartment was as large as the room above them, but the ceiling was so low that they had to bend over.

"Well guys, get comfy," Blue said as she sat down. The others followed her example and sat down as well. "This is gonna be a bumpy ride," she continued.

The group began to her voices and footsteps above their heads. "Hey, they're boarding," Yellow stated.

"Shh!" Lucas and Blue said at the same time as they placed hands over Yellow's mouth.

* * *

Gary stood in the cockpit of one of the landing crafts. Sitting in front of him, were the two pilots as they made their preflight checkup. Behind him, in the next room, were the troops on board.

Over the sound of the radio headpiece in his ear, he could hear all four squadrons checking in. He shifted his gaze down the row of crafts to the next one where he knew Dawn was. They had to ride in separate crafts, so that incase one got hit, the team could still have a leader.

"Sir," one of the pilots spoke, getting Gary's attention. "Birds 2 through 15 are good to go," he said. Gary nodded.

"Good, then lets get going," Gary ordered.

"Yes sir!" the other pilot spoke. "Blue squadron, its dust off time!" the pilot spoke over the radio. The confirmations from the other crafts could barely be heard over the roar of the engines as they started up.

The aircraft jolted to life as it suddenly rose into the sky. The rest of the crafts with the blue stripes followed suite. Once they were high enough off the ground the crafts lazily hovered into a straight line, with Gary in front.

"Ok, have Celebi activate the portal," Gary instructed into his radio. A moment later, a large green portal appeared. The ships flew straight into it at blistering speed. The craft shuddered a bit as it exited the portal.

Gary was amazed as he saw the island looked exactly the same as it did before they built their base on it. It looked almost exactly the same, only without their buildings built into the mountainside. "Blue squadron, form up, we're heading to Sinnoh!"

And so the 15 crafts formed three wedge formations, five crafts each. All of them listed to the right, until they faced north, then they raced off.

* * *

"Well, it's better than I expected in here," Alex said as he shone his flashlight across the walls of the cave they were traversing through. The stalagmites near the ways of the cave gave the tunnel a gloomy touch to it.

"_I don't think this cave has been explored in years," _Gardevoir said as she walked with her trainer. "_I mean look at this place!" _

_ "That's probably because everyone takes the nice road outside nowadays. This cave used to be known as Victory Road, back in the day, this was the route trainers had to take in order to get to the Pokemon League," _Alex explained matter of fact.

_"And you know that because?" _Gardevoir teased.

_"Because sometimes your too stressful and I need to read something," _Alex teased back. The two shared a quick laugh, before continuing on their path.

_"These caves are filled with mazes, all but one will lead back to the entrance. During travels through here, trainers would often battle with one another. Those that made it out were considered true league competitors, cause they managed to over come the hardships of Victory Road and all those inside of it,' _Alex continued.

_"And you're saying all of this because?" _ Gardevoir asked.

_"Look down," _Alex said as he flashed the flashlight down. Gardevoir went wide-eyed as she saw that they stood on a narrow bridge over a great chasm. "_So, as I was saying," _Alex started as he continued to distract the embrace pokemon from the drop below.

_"So let me guess, you chose this route so you could relive the travels of old trainers?" _Gardevoir asked.

_"Partially, and that it seemed a lot better than trying to fight through over a hundred soldiers," _Alex answered. _"Besides, I always wanted to be a trainer like those of old, and a coordinator like mom and dad. And if I get a chance, that's what I'm going to do with my life once Cipher is finished," _Alex said with a smile on his face. But the smile quickly disappeared into a frown. _'But I'll never get that chance,' _he thought to himself.

"_What do you want to do with your life Gardy?" _Alex asked. The embrace pokemon thought about it for a second before answering.

"_I want to stay by your side and help you make your dream come true," _she answered. Alex smiled, although he didn't let it show.

"_Thanks Gardy," _Alex said, a hint of sadness, and relief in his caught the tone of his voice, and by judging from the way the boy was walking she could see just how scared he was, but she didn't press him.

The two of them continued through the mazes of twisting tunnels and open chasms. "_Hey look!" _ Gardevoir exclaimed. "_The exit!" _she said as she pointed to the gap in the walls. The light shone in giving no need for the flashlight.

"_Well, it's not the same as the entrance, so I guess it has to be the exit," _Alex said as he turned off the flashlight. The two of them exited through the gap in the walls.

They found themselves on a high ledge on the side of a valley. In the middle of the valley was a small city that surrounded the large stadium in the center, and was surrounded by woods on all sides. The only gap in the woods was for the large road that ran through a large tunnel under the mountain, and linked up with the outside of the valley. The streets surrounding the stadium were covered by the large bulky landing crafts that Cipher had lazily parked in a circular formation as if to form a perimeter.

The cliff they were standing on was several dozen yards above the ground. But a narrow path curved along the side of the mountain and deposited itself on the forest ground.

_"Shall we?" _Alex asked. Gardevoir reluctantly nodded, and the two started down the path. As they made their way down, Alex often glanced in the direction of the stadium.

* * *

Gary pressed a button on his radio. "All teams, check in!" he ordered.

"Red team here. All green so far, arrival at Indigo Plateau in about five hours," Gary heard Tracy say.

"Green team reporting, arrival at Hoenn stadium, eta three hours," Paul's voice said.

"Yellow team, Johto stadium is about seven hours away," Richie's voice said.

"Good, blue team is about ten hours away from Sinnoh stadium. All teams keep heading at your current trajectory," Gary said as he turned his radio back to local.

"_Ten _hours_?"_ he heard Dawn ask.

"I'm afraid so Dawn, let see if we can give these birds some more juice," Gary said. He turned to the pilots.

"Increase to full, I want us there in seven hours," Gary told them.

"We can get you there in five sir," the pilot said confidently.

"Then make it happen!" Gary ordered.

* * *

"Anyone got any cards to pass the time?" Blue asked with a bored tone. The others all shock their heads until Lucas tossed her a deck. "Lucas, you have cards?" she asked, astonished.

"Yup," was all he answered. As Yellow gawked at him, Blue already opened the deck of cards.

"Ok!" Blue started. "Who knows some good card games?"

"Oh! I know one!" Ash said as he reached for the deck. As Ash passed out the cards they played cards, until a sudden increase in the ships momentum up settled them.

"What's going on?" Ash asked as he held onto a cabinet, May not too far from him.

"I guess they decided we weren't going fast enough," Yellow answered from where she was holding onto something.

* * *

Alex stopped once they were within thirty yards of the end of the path. "_What are you doing now?" _Gardevoir asked as she watched her trainer search through his bag.

The boy smirked and pulled out a long rope and a hook. He tied the rope to the hook and slammed it into the rocky ledge they were on. "_This," _Alex finally answered. He threw the rope over the edge of the cliff and slid down.

"_Well, that seemed kind of pointless," _Gardevoir said as she teleported next to him on the ground. Alex didn't respond as he cut through the forest.

Once they got passed the last tree, they found themselves in the open streets. The city seemed completely ordinary, stores, restaurants, hotels, and other buildings littered the streets. But it was silent, like a ghost town.

"_Odd, where is everyone?" _Gardevoir asked as they stealthily made their way through the city.

"_I have a pretty good idea," _Alex answered as he glared towards the stadium. "_What I don't get, is were are Cipher's soldiers?" _

"_Probably waiting for us," _the embrace pokemon answered.

"_Well, let's not keep them waiting," _Alex replied as he walked towards the stadium entrance. As he passed by the large bulky transports, the large wedge shaped vehicles didn't appear all that opposing. The flight crews that monitored them either gave no notice to any incomers, or just didn't care.

The two of them slipped into the stadium's entrance with no difficulty, and even then were surprised to see no one waiting for them. Alex sighed and made his way over to the receptionist's desk.

"_Now what are you doing?" _

_"Hacking into the camera networks," _Alex replied as he typed into the computer. The computer beeped before displaying the security camera networks. "_Peace of cake," _he said triumphantly.

Alex selected a camera from the list and watched as it displayed feedback from the camera. "_I thought so!" _he exclaimed. Gardevoir looked over his shoulder to see what he was looking at.

The camera's feedback showed all the citizens of the surrounding city being held captive in the stadium seats, while they were being watched over by hundreds of soldiers clad in white armor.

_"Hostages? They'd stoop that low?" _she responded. '_Oh, wait, a deranged lunatic with a mad quest for world domination, of _course _they'd use hostages," _she said sarcastically.

"Either way, we got to get them out of here," Alex spoke as he left the entrance room and made his way to the locker rooms. "And the best way to do that is with a battle," Alex continued.

"_So you're going to just openly expose yourself?" _Gardevoir asked.

_"They'd find me regardless," _Alex responded. They quickly cut through the trainer prep areas, through the locker rooms, and now found themselves in the small tunnel that leads into the center of the stadium.

"_Well, this is it," _Gardevoir said with a sigh. Alex nodded in agreement. The next few steps he took were the hardest in his life.

His head began to ache; as if something was trying to claw it's way out. '_I can't hold out much longer,' _he thought to himself.

* * *

"Sir! Sinnoh stadium, eta, two hours," the main pilot said.

"Good, let's get there as soon as we can," Gary responded.

"Sir, I-I'm getting a transmition from the stadium, radio broadcast," the co-pilot said.

"Display it," Gary answered. The man nodded and flipped a switch.

"Well folks, it seems we're in for a treat today!" a rough voice said. "Today's entertainment is Cipher's one and only _Grand Master_!" the voice continued. When it mentioned the Cipher hierarch, a large applause could be heard over the man's voice. "Against, the Resistance's secret leader," he said, same as before only booing was heard this time. "Let's see just how badly this little wimp will get crushed then shall we?" the voice said with a maniacal laugh as chanting was heard in the background.

"Gary!" Dawn's voice roared over the brunette's radio.

"Pilots, we need to be there _now!_" Gary yelled.

"Aye sir!" they answered. "Pushing engines to 210 percent!"

The sudden change in speed forced Gary to grab hold of something for support as the craft reached mach two. The sound of the sound barrier breaking rung in his ears as he glared at the island out in the distance.

* * *

The situation was worse than he thought. There weren't a hundred soldiers; there were easily a _thousand_ of them up in the stands. The civilians were all ushered onto one side of the stadium, the side that Alex stood on, with soldiers keeping them in check. The other side of the stadium had no one but soldiers in it.

"Well boy," the cloaked figure in front of Alex said to gather his attention. Alex turned to face the Grand Master, the headache he had getting substanciously worse with every passing second. "I must say, I'm quite pleased to see you back up on your feet."

"Oh really?" Alex asked rhetorically.

"Yes, the figure replied, now I can have the singular pleasure of killing you myself!" the figure replied. "I'll humor you, we'll fight this battle with normal stadium rules, a six on six match. I'll go first!" he said as he tossed a ball into the air. The ball snapped open with a loud pop and a Flygon appeared from a white flash.

Alex looked up at the sky for a moment. '_The day tugged by fast it seems,' _he thought to himself as he gazed at the golden-red colored sky. He shifted his gaze back to the battlefield ahead of him. "Have it your way then," Alex said. "Go Dragonite!" he exclaimed as he tossed the ball up into the air. When Dragonite appeared he landed in front of his trainer and glared at his opponent.

* * *

**Chapter 14 of part one, next chapter is the big clincher.**

**Comments, Questions, Thoughts, reviews, ALL Welcome!**


	15. The Reign of Cipher part 1

_**The Dark Reign of Cipher**_

_**Chapter 15**_

**Part 1**

The two dragon pokemon stared each other down, daring the other to make the first move. Dragonite stood tall and proud in front of his trainer, while Flygon hovered in front of its master. Alex let loose a sigh as he shifted his attention to the battlefield.

"_Are you alright?" _Gardevoir asked in a concerned tone. "_You haven't issued a command yet."_

"_I'm fine Gardy, just coming up with a strategy," _Alex replied. '_Well, that's partially true, I am trying to come up with a strategy, but I'm not fine,' _he said to himself as another wave of pain shot through his head. Alex closed one eye as he recoiled from the pain. It took every ounce of his willpower to keep it from rebounding across the link he shared with the embrace pokemon.

"If you won't make the first move, then I guess I will!" the grand master stated with a disappointed shrug. "Flygon…," the green dragon perked its head up and turned it towards its master's voice.

"Dragonite, dragon breath attack now!" Alex commanded. Dragonite quickly responded by unleashing a pillar of green fire at the distracted opponent.

The contact between the attack and its target created an explosion that cast Flygon back a few yards, but it quickly recovered and turned back towards the Dragonite.

"Clever boy, very clever," the master said. "Using Flygon's distraction to your advantage. But you won't be getting such an opening again." Flygon growled in affirmation. "Now then, Flygon use flame thrower!"

Flygon let loose a shower of flames at its opponent. "Dragonite, counter with your own flame thrower!" Alex commanded. Dragonite complied and the two beams of fire connected with each other, spraying embers in every direction.

Neither pokemon let up its attack, not wanting to give the other the edge. '_This isn't right, he knows fire type attacks are less effective against dragon types. What is he planning?" Alex asked himself._ The moment he let his wander, it felt like his mind was being stabbed again. '_Can't afford to get distracted I guess,' _he thought as he shook the pain off.

Gardevoir felt a wave of pain rebound across their bond, and after quickly discerning the source of the pain, set up a protective barrier around his mind with her psychic powers.

'_Thanks Gardy, but it's coming from inside, not outside,' _he thought. Alex turned his attention back to the battle just in time to see the raging inferno brewing between the two dragons explode in a single ball of fire. The clouds of smoke and dust from the explosion blocked out any view of the combatants.

The young trainer stood there and watched as Dragonite instantly burst from the cloud cover and tried to spot his foe. While his attention was focused on Dragonite, Alex failed to notice the sphere of fire soaring straight towards him.

_"Alex!" _Gardevoir shouted, snapping her trainer to attention. Alex tried to jump out of the way of the attack, but found that he couldn't. The moment he tried, his body froze up.

'_I'm losing control!' _he exclaimed to himself. Alex stood there, filled with fear as the attack continued on its collision course with him. Dragonite moved to intercept, but he couldn't make it in time.

Gardevoir quickly stepped in front of her trainer and held an arm. The arm glowed blue along with her eyes as she used protect to form a barrier around the two of them. The sphere of fire impacted harmlessly against the protect spell.

"Thanks Gardy," Alex muttered. The embrace pokemon showed no response. "Alright Dragonite, blow away that dust with your whirlwind attack!"

Dragonite complied with a few mighty flaps of its wings, and the ensuing gale blew the dust away. However, when the dust had cleared, there was no sign of Flygon.

"Oh, this isn't good," Alex muttered.

"Flygon, now!" the master called out. In a flash of golden light, Flygon raced down from the sky and smashed Dragonite into the ground.

When the dust cleared, Flygon stood on top of Dragonite, who had a dazed look in its eyes. "No!" Alex breathed as he returned the fallen dragon. A roar of applause sounded from the soldiers in the stands.

Flygon guided itself over to its master and stood next to him. "Next?" he asked.

With a huff, Alex reached for the next pokeball on his belt. "Alright, let's do this! Go Suicune!"

* * *

"Sir, Sinnoh Stadium, eta thirty minutes," the pilot told Gary.

"Good, keep us at this heading. I want to be down on the ground ASAP!" Gary replied. He clicked the button on his radio. "This is blue team, we have arrived at Sinnoh Stadium, and all hands prepare for immediate combat insertion." He then clicked another button on the head set. "This is blue team, target found, requesting all other teams revert from your current heading and link up at our location."

"I just hope we make it in time," Dawn said over the radio.

Gary grunted in agreement. He shifted his attention out of the cockpit window and watched as the moon began to rise over the eastern sea, and the sun fall just under the western horizon.

Forward, on the island that looked like nothing more than a speck on their view screen, a plume of smoke could be seen rising from the ground.

"We have to make it in time," Gary said to himself more than Dawn as he fingered the datapad in his pocket.

* * *

"I still don't get what's going on here," one of the hostages said in the bleachers in the stadium.

"Yeah, me neither, all I know is that these clones in the spaceman suits showed up and kidnapped us," another said. "All that just to watch some battle? The league tournament won't start for another six months!"

"This is more than just some battle, this could affect the entire world," an elderly man said. He gripped his staff tighter in his hands as he watched the battle continue.

"What are you talking about old man?" the first hostage said as he turned back to face the elderly man.

"Euagen," an equally elderly woman said at his side as she tugged on his blue sleeve.

"Do any of you have pokemon with you?" Euagen asked the hostages near him. Some of them shook their heads confirming that they did while others said no. "At the opportune moment, you can use them to rebel against these soldiers and take back your city."

"Uh, ok," a hostage said. "But what does this have to do with the battle, why are we hostages?" she asked.

"It was a trap, to bring that boy out, he's fighting alone for all of you, and the only way these cowards could bring him out in the open was with a bunch of hostages," the elderly woman said.

"R-really?" someone asked.

"Yes," Bella answered.

"How do you know all this?" another asked.

"We came to make sure this doesn't go too far, the boy isn't strong enough to do this alone," Euagen answered.

* * *

"Suicune use aurora beam!" Alex commanded.

"Flygon, use signal beam!" the grand master said.

The two combating pokemon launched their attacks, but Suicune was much less tired than Flygon and was able to put more power into the attack. The aurora beam easily defeated the signal beam, and thus crashed into the dragon pokemon with extreme force.

Flygon crashed into the ground with a loud crash and a dazed look in its eyes. An ear splitting chorus of booing was heard from all of the Cipher peons. The master withdrew it, and sent out another pokemon without a sound.

"A Roserade huh?" Alex said. "Not a-" he was cut off as he fell to one of his knees and gripped his head with both hands to try and subdue the thundering force in his head. Gardevoir was instantly at his side.

"_Alex! What's wrong?" _she asked, pleading for a way to help. Alex simply shook his head and rose back up and onto his feet.

"Suicune, use ice beam," Alex said weakly.

'_**They left you…**' _a dark, raspy voice said to him. The dark presence that the voice emanated from slowly crawled its way into the boy's conscience.

Roserade easily dodged the ice beam, and fired off a stream of petals in retaliation. Suicune just managed to avoid the leaves. But the leaves turned around and came back at the legendary dog. Suicune had to dodge and jump and continue to do so as the leaves continued to follow the legendary dog pokemon.

After jumping away, the leaves shot straight past Suicune and straight for its trainer who stood a good distance behind it.

Alex tried to move, but once again found it impossible to do so. Gardevoir instinctively put up a protective barrier, which the leaves hammered into.

"_Damn magical leaf attack," _the embrace pokemon cursed.

* * *

"Stadium, eta five minutes, caution things are going to get hot!" the pilot said. Gary nodded.

They watched as the stadium crept closer, people filled the bleachers, and five small dots could be seen in the center. Streaks of light shot past them from the ground outside of the stadium. Some of the beams were composed of ice, others of thunder, fire, or various other types.

"Evasive maneuvers!" the pilots cried. As the aircraft swayed and broke their formations, more attacks shot up at them from the ground. The attacks began to close in on the aircraft.

A screeching sound of metal being bend and torn, along with the entire craft shuddering signaled Gary that they were hit. "Status!" he barked.

"Starboard engine hit, we're going down, sir!" the co-pilot said.

"Damnit!" Gary cursed. "Ok, try and set us down in the stadium."

"Yes sir," the pilot said.

"Gary!" Dawn cried over the radio, worry evident in her voice.

"We're ok Dawn, but we're going to have to set down in the stadium," Gary replied to his wife in a clam collected voice. "The rest out you need to pull back a bit, the closer you fly the more they'll shoot."

Dawn was silent for a moment, "Just stay safe until we get to you, promise me that!" she demanded when she found her voice.

"Alright Dawn I promise," Gary replied before turning back towards the battle.

"All aircraft pull back towards the beach head, the flak is too thick, we'll have to go in on foot!" Dawn ordered over the radio's team chatter. Various confirmations were heard as the rest of the craft pulled away, leaving the lone craft gliding towards the stadium.

* * *

'_**They hated you…**'_ the voice continued to speak. Alex could feel himself losing control every single second that passed. He then remembered what master Euagen told him once during training.

_'If at any time you feel as though your strength is fading, or you're losing control think pleasant thoughts, it may save you,' _Alex remembered. The boy pictured his family from when he was little, with his mother, and father, and their pokemon. He thought of his pokemon, and the rest of his friends.

Suddenly, he felt the dark presence in his mind back off a little, as if being pushed back with the memories. "Gardy, take over the battle," Alex said to the embrace pokemon. Gardevoir turned and gave a questioning glance to her trainer, but when she saw him put his hands into a focusing stance, she understood.

"_Alright, Suicune, use hydro pump!" _Gardevoir ordered. The legendary dog complied by firing a high pressure column of water, soaking the Roserade, as well as the ground around it. "_Good, now use ice beam to trap it," _the embrace pokemon added. Suicune's hydro pump attack ended and was quickly replaced by a beam of swirling blue light, freezing anything and everything it touched.

The attack scored a direct hit on Roserade, but the rose pokemon break out of the ice and rose back onto its feet. The leader of Cipher gave a small chuckle of amusement. "It'll take more than some ice to stop this Roserade," he mused. With a flick of his wrist, the master's Roserade instantly fired a powerful solar beam at Suicune, the dog was unable to dodge in time, and took the full brunt of the ferocious attack.

Suicune struggled to rise back onto its feet, but fell with a grunt. Gardevoir recalled the fallen pokemon with her psychic powers. "I thought I was battling your trainer dear," the master spoke. "Not his want-to-be mother, let the boy fight his own battles," he finished with a tone of amusement in his voice.

"_Alex?_" Gardevoir asked her trainer cautiously, her voice full of worry.

"Almost ready, just stay focused on the battle," Alex replied. A faint cyan blue light began to pulse from his hands, which were locked together in concentration. Alex rested on one knee, his head down and eyes closed in concentration as he held his hands out in front of him.

"_Alright," _Gardevoir replied to her trainer. '_If ice won't beat that Roserade, than how about some fire?" _she said to herself as she used her abilities to summon the next pokemon.

* * *

"So, this opportune moment you told us to wait for, when is going to come? When this kid gets beat?" one of the hostages said.

"Just be patient," Euagen said as motioned towards the sky. They watched as a group of fifteen aircraft flew towards them, one of them continuing forward, trailing smoke, while the others pulled off to avoid getting hit from attacks launched from the ground.

"The moment that craft lands, everything will be in disarray, that will be your opportune moment to strike," Bella said.

* * *

Ash, May, and the rest of their small group sat in the make shift emergency room onboard the drop ship they had stowed upon. "Anyone else get the feeling that we're dropping?" May asked.

"I think we're finally landing," Yellow said with a sigh of relief. Blue looked skeptical.

"Like landing would be this easy," she said quietly to herself. Suddenly, a lurch, the craft slammed into the ground, the force of the impact threw everyone around a little bit.

"Everybody ok?" Ash asked as he rubbed the back of his now sore head.

"I'm alive," blue said sorely as she waved her hand up so everybody could see it.

"I'm good," Lucas said as he rose to his knees. "But that was the worst landing I've ever felt," he said in an irritated voice.

"It defiantly wasn't the best," Yellow said as she also tried to shake the dizziness from her head.

"I'm ok Ash," May said in a loving tone. A bright flash illuminated the room as a large round pink pokemon appeared from its pokeball and began to tend to the group.

"Thanks Chancy," they said.

* * *

Alex looked up from his hands to see one of the Resistance's drop ships crashed into the side of the stadium's area. Cipher's soldiers instantly rushed towards the craft, preparing for battle. Also, he turned his attention to the stands behind him as all of the hostages drew their pokemon and began fighting the soldiers.

"What's going on?" he asked no one in particular. He watched as Gary and a large group of resistance fighters swarm out of the downed craft, pokemon already drawn, and rushing into battle.

The grand master also looked around but his posture showed neither anger nor curiosity, but rather it retained its apathetic state.

The darkness came back to attack the young trainer in full force, but it was pushed back, barely, leaving a tired Alex in its wake. '_I have to end this fast,' _Alex said to himself. He shifted his full attention to the light now pulsating from his hands.

* * *

"Alright, ser up a perimeter, don't let any peons get through!" Gary ordered. Attacks whizzed back and forth as the small strike team was out number a thousand to one. "Umbreon," Gary said softly to the dark evolutionary pokemon at his side. Umbreon turned obediently to face it's master for a split second before returning its attention to the battle. "Use shadow ball," he ordered.

Umbreon's shadow ball scored a direct hit on a Kadabra that was preparing to launch a psychic attack. The dark type attack instantly fainted the psychic type.

Gary turned his head back to try and get his badly outnumbered troops to spur on forward, but stopped when he saw his daughter as well as her friends crawl out from the crashed landing craft.

"You have got to be kidding me, oh please Arceus, please be kidding," Gary prayed. He his eyes and shook his head, but when he re-opened them, Emily was still there, helping Ash and May out of the craft next.

* * *

Alex stood up, breaking his concentrative stance. He staggered on his feet, the exhaustion from holding off the darkness from consuming his mind, and preparing his technique left him practically empty of energy. The sphere of cyan light in his palms extended to form a shape similar to a saber.

Holding the energy like a sword, Alex rushed over towards the grand master, who didn't so much as twitch.

Just before the attack made contact with its target, the grand master reached out and grasped one of the boy's wrists, causing the attack to dissipate.

"What a futile effort. If you are going to use aura techniques, make sure you wear the proper equipment," the grand master spoke as he twisted Alex's wrist to show the spots where the attack literally burned his skin away. "Second, don't go charging straight forward with such an obvious and easily counter able attack," he finished as Alex was sent soaring back by an invisible force.

Alex landed with a load thud, and struggled to try and get back up, Gardevoir speared by his side to try and help him. He found moving to be almost impossible as it felt like at least half of his bodnes had broken from the landing, and screamed pain in his joints. Also, that dark precence had rooted itself, and it wasn't going anywhere, no matter how hard he tried to remove it. Gardevoir began to try and heal his injuries.

"Now then, you will be coming with me," the grand master spoke directly to him. The leader of Cipher casually made his way towards the boy, despite all of the explosions and attacks flying back and forth all around them.

Gardevoir readied herself for battle when their adversary was within fifteen yards of them, one arm glowing with psychic energy, while the other pulsed a calm blue as it healed the injured trainer.

"Oh no you don't!" a defiant voice yelled. Emily jumped in front of Gardevoir and Alex as her Gallade stood in front of her. Her Gallade swing his arms to warm up its fighting skills. The swords on its arms stood firm and ready to fight.

"Emily?" Alex asked in a weak voice. "What are you doing here?" he asked.

"Saving you of course, and how many times do I have to tell you, just call me blue," she replied with a loving smile. That smile quickly faded away as she turned towards her opponent.

"If you want to get to them, your going to have to go through me first!" she stated

"As you wish," the master said.

* * *

"Ash!" May said. "Lets go help her!" she said as she pointed towards blue. Ash quickly nodded and the two of them, along with Pikachu and Eevee ran across the field to the fallen trainer.

"Stop right there Ketchum!" another voice said. The two of them stopped and turned to see Drew standing night in front of them. "Ketchum, your battle is with me! Let's settle this once and for all!" he said as he through a pokeball in front of him, summoning his Roselia.

"May, go on ahead, I'll catch up," Ash said as Pikachu jumped in front of his trainer, sparks flying from his cheeks. May reluctantly nodded before running towards her future son.

* * *

The remaining fourteen crafts landed on the edge of the island. The troops quickly disembarked and divided themselves into teams.

"Alright, we have to push our way up the road and to the stadium," Dawn shouted. "We cannot lose and we have no time to waste, Cipher can finish off the survivors at any moment, so come on people let's get a move on!" she continued.

"Yes maim!" the troops shouted in salute. Dawn turned around to see cipher soldiers seem to appear from every crook and cranny available to them. '_Gary, please hang on, we're coming,'_ Dawn prayed as she readied herself for battle.

* * *

Gary noticed Lucas and Yellow just out of the corner of his eyes. He motioned for the two of them to fall back from where they were, but they weren't paying attention. Some of the enemy soldiers say the motion and realized why he was signaling them.

Gary watched as he Cipher soldiers began to direct their attacks towards the two kids rather than at him. "Umbreon, let's go!" he said as the two of them rushed to intercept the attacks.

* * *

**Seeing as how I haven't updated in forever, and this chapter is going to be long, I decided to split into two parts, this is only the first part, I hope you enjoyed it ^.^**

**Comments, questions, reviews, all feedback is welcomed and highly appreciated!**


	16. The Reign of Cipher part 2

_**The Dark Reign of Cipher**_

_**Chapter 15**_

**Part Two**

"Get out of here Emily," Alex coughed as he struggled to stand up. His efforts were futile as his broken body refused to move. Gardevoir began to focus her healing on his bones. The brunette girl in front of him however, didn't budge. "Emily!" he barked, coughing up blood.

"No," she replied calmly. "I'm not running away. I'm not," the girl began to speak, not shifting her gaze from her opponent who stood just a couple dozen yards away.

"Emily, you can't beat him, just r-," Alex interrupted her.

"I know," she responded cutting the injured boy off. "But if I can at least hold him off for a couple of minutes, then that's good enough for me."

Alex cursed under his breath as he once again desperately tried to stand, only to have his embrace pokemon place an arm on his shoulder keeping him down until she finished healing his broken limbs.

The Grandmaster's dark laugh attracted both of their attention. "You? Stop me? Don't be ridiculous! You're just a pathetic girl. You have no true combat experience, and yet you think you can buy the boy any time? Don't make me laugh!" he said, his face hidden behind his silver white mask. The kanji of the moon and sun glistening from the surface beneath the dark black hood of the man's robe.

Emily stood frozen. A sudden chill ran down her spine. "You can't do anything against me, your just some pathetic excuse of a girl who believes she is a trainer, chasing after the impossible!" the Grandmaster continued.

Emily took a sharp inhale of breathe. '_He's right, I can't do this!' _she doubted herself. Sensing her unease, Gallade turned to face her, a concerned look on his face. Panic quickly spread across her face as an over whelming weigh seemed to press down on her shoulders. She could feel her body trembling.

"Don't buy any of his crap!" she heard Alex's voice. Emily spun around to see a barely standing Alex, leaning against Gardevoir for support. "He's just trying to break you, don't give him the chance. Just ignore everything he says about you."

"That would be a very wise notion, were it not coming from a hypocrite," the Grandmaster replied sharply with a chuckle.

"Bastard!" Alex cursed under his breath. Alex carefully walked over to Emily's side and put a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "Listen, whether you're strong or not doesn't matter. It's what you believe that counts. Your pokemon depend on you for courage and guidance, don't let them down," he told his childhood friend.

Tears threatened to spill from the girl's eyes as she took in the boy's words. Emily whipped her eyes before they had the chance. With a loving, affection smile and a grateful look on her face she replied, "Yeah, your right!" '_Thank you,' _she mentally added. "Alright Gallade!" Emily said getting the attention of the blade pokemon. "Let's show this guy what happens when you mess with us!"

"(Gladly!)" Gallade replied, falling into a combat stance.

"_Gardy, let's help out," _Alex conversed mentally to the embrace pokemon. Casting a heavily concerned look to her trainer, she made her way and stood next to Gallade. Surprised, Emily looked over to see the terribly injured trainer standing at her side, ready to fight alongside her.

Alex looked exhausted, if it wasn't visible from his labored breathing, it was by the way he stood, his facial features, and the sweat glistening against the surrounding lights. But that wasn't all; Blue could just barely distinguish a deep crimson red trimming along the edges of his pupils.

Turning her attention back to the battle that she knew would be hard, she noted the close proximity between the two of them, and how adorable it was to see their two pokemon together as well. Under normal circumstances she knew she would have been blushing and off in her own fantasy world right now, but she also knew that if she didn't focus they would die.

With a amused huff, the grandmaster picked a single pokeball from his robe and lazily tossed it out in front of him. After the popping noise, the white glow that accompanied the opening took the shape of Deoxys.

"Emily, you're going to have to make the catch," Alex calmly stated. Emily quickly shifted her gaze over to Alex before focusing ahead a split second later. "My throwing arm is shattered, so you're going to have to catch Deoxys," Alex clarified. Emily nodded a split second later understanding the situation. "Now, wait for him to make the first move and wait for an-" Alex began to explain his strategy before he was interrupted.

"Gallade lets start this off with a slash attack!" Emily confidently commanded. Gallade stormed forward leaving Gardevoir blinking in the wake left behind.

'_She's going to get us killed!' _Alex roared inside his head. "_**They are a nuisance, they must be killed, they will only turn their hate towards you in time,"**_ the dark presence spoke to him. With a grunt Alex pushed the dark voice aside. Expecting what was about to happen, Alex turned towards Gardevoir. "_Use protect now!" _he told her.

Emily's confident smile was immediately replaced with shock as Deoxys suddenly disappeared and reappeared just feet in front of her, already switched from its speed form into its attack form ready to attack with a deadly night slash. The embrace pokemon barely managed to get in front of the girl in time. A large crack echoed around then as Deoxys attack met Gardevoir's protective barrier, send sparks flying from the impact.

Seeing that its attempt was futile, Deoxys immediately disappeared again and reappeared in front of, transforming again ready to strike Gallade who was looking puzzled. Before the blade pokemon could respond it was sent flying back with a powerful psychic attack. Gallade jumped in midair and recovered its composure, landing gracefully in front of his trainer.

"What-?" Emily stuttered.

"I was trying to warn you, Deoxys can take the shape of four different forms. Its attack form allows it to have incredible power to attack opponents with, its defense form where it is almost impossible to damage, the speed form where it can travel at almost impossible speeds, and its normal form where its abilities are all balanced," Alex explained.

"So what's the plan?" she asked, letting Alex take over.

"We have to hit it hard when its in its attack or speed mode," Alex replied calmly.

"And just how are we supposed to do that?" Emily asked.

"Alex just simply smirked in reply. It seemed to Emily that Alex's eyes were slowly becoming redder with every passing moment. "Alright, here's the plan," Alex started.

* * *

It was becoming more and more frustrating by the second; as they tried to reach the stadium, the brisk run had been completely reduced to a slow crawl as clusters of troops seemed to almost pop out of cracks in the cliffs or out from tree roots.

Since the time they landed, they had only just now gotten off the beach. In the time that the progress had taken, dawn didn't even know if her husband was still alive. "Gary," Dawn mumbled to herself as she looked over the ominous cliff wall ahead of them, seeing plumes of smoke rise from the other side. The sharp sound of an attack whizzing just over her head caused the commander to growl in frustration as she turned to her left to face another one of the seemingly infinite peons of Cipher hiding behind a bush with his pokemon at his side.

If it wasn't a straight up charge down the center it was a cowardly sneak attack that was how they would attack. "Togekiss use aura sphere and flush them out!" Dawn commanded to the flying pokemon at her side. Togekiss opened its mouth as energy began to gather. In a swift second the sphere of energy was launched at the soldier hiding in the bush.

The peon grunted as the attack collided. Dawn watched as two of her troops cautiously approached to check the rest of that area. One of them turned back to her and nodded, notifying her that it was clear. Dawn nodded in reply. She turned around to see the rest of her strike force spread out in case of ambush. The fourteen remaining transports lay parked on the edge of the cliff-covered shore about a kilometer away.

"Come on! Let's go! Cipher still owns this city!" Dawn yelled to her troops. They had to reach the city. Gary was depending on her, and she vowed to not her husband down. Focusing on the large tunnel that cut under the mountain she watched a hand full of the remaining peons rush inside.

A team of Resistance troops were about to pursue, but Dawns hand stopped them dead in their tracks. Her eyes focused on the tunnel. Not even moments after her troops stopped did a series of explosions sound off from inside the tunnel. The ground shook as the force of the explosion spread. After the thunderous roar of the explosions died down, the sound of stones giving away filled the silent void.

The Resistance forces stood and watched as the entire tunnel caved in. The few Cipher peons left outside the now impregnable stone wall surrendered without a fight. "Maim, what should we do now?" one of Dawn's captains asked her. Dawn stood silent as she surveyed the situation before them. "Maim?" Then she spoke after thinking.

"Gather up all of the trainers who have powerful flying type pokemon, get everyone else back on the drop ships," Dawn answered. The captain nodded, but held a confused face, prompting Dawn to explain. "We're going over the wall."

* * *

"Pikachu use agility to get around Roselia, then hit it with your iron tail!" Ash commanded. The yellow mouse pokemon complied and disappeared in a flash of speed.

"Roselia use absorb the moment Pikachu gets close enough!" Drew retaliated. The rose pokemon didn't have to wait long as Pikachu reappeared right behind it. Using one of its flower bulb hands, Roselia hit Pikachu and stole a small bit of his energy.

Pikachu quickly recovered and responded with a swift iron tail attack, sending Roselia back a few feet. Jumping to its feet, Roselia was ready for its next attack.

"Give it up Drew, even if you beat me, May won't love for it," Ash tried to reason with the green haired boy. Pikachu returned to Ash's side.

"Don't give me that crap! Once I beat you, then May will be all mine!" Drew shouted. Ash released a sigh and shook his head, Pikachu's ears slumped downward.

"You've truly lost it Drew," Ash replied softly. Drew growled in frustration and anger.

"Absol go!" Drew yelled as he threw a second pokeball onto the field. The disaster pokemon joined Roselia, and the two of them turned to face Pikachu.

"Sceptile, I choose you!" Ash replied in turn as he threw out another pokemon. The large grass type put its trademark twig in its mouth as it prepared for battle. The two sides stood silent, patiently waiting for the other to make the first move.

Drew did not disappoint, and made the first move. "Roselia, prepare your solar beam attack, Absol use night slash!" he ordered.

"Sceptile, use leaf blade to stop Absol, Pikachu use thunder before Roselia can fire," Ash replied. The four pokemon began to prepare their attacks. As Absol rushed forward, its single blade glowing with a purple hue, Sceptile's tail glowed with bright green. The two blades collided with a loud clash and a shower of sparks. The two pokemon jumped back away from each other just as Pikachu and Roselia's attacks collided where they just stood.

The two pokemon fought for supremacy through their attacks, neither one giving ground to the other. Eventually the fight ended when Absol shot a razor wind attack at Pikachu, who was unable to dodge. The hit made Pikachu end the thunder attack. Suddenly, Roselia's solar beam attack streaked for Pikachu, taking the remaining energy from the thunder attack with it. Pikachu was hit as a massive explosion covered the line of sight from both trainers.

* * *

May was torn. She wanted to help Alex, but at the same time she couldn't leave Ash behind. She had to make a choice, because standing out in the open like a sitting duck wouldn't help either of them. Taking quick glances to both sides, she bawled her fists as tears threatened to spill from her eyes. '_I'm sorry,' _May said to herself as she chose the lesser of the two evils.

Just as the smoke was clearing, and Pikachu became visible Ash saw Absol pinning the mouse pokemon down. "Blazekin, use blaze kick now!" Ash heard May order. The tall red fire fighting type pokemon seemed to have come out of nowhere as it kicked Absol off of Pikachu.

"May!" Ash said gratefully. May replied with a sincere and loving smile before turning to face Drew, he once calm and happy face contorted into anger and frustration for the green haired coordinator. Ash motioned for Pikachu who limped its way over. May gave the small mouse a sympathetic look and scratched it behind the ears as she held it in her arms.

"May!" Drew yelled in shock. '_How could she?' _he asked himself as he was forced to withdraw his badly damaged Absol from the battlefield. He quickly threw out his Flygon in its stead.

"I'll take Flygon, you get Roselia," Ash offered quietly to May so that only she would hear. The brunette nodded her head and focused her attention of the rose pokemon. "Sceptile, use bullet seed!" The plant pokemon shot a large series of rock hard seeds from its mouth with alarming speed and power, taking Flygon unprepared the seeds nailed their target.

The dragon pokemon quickly regained its composure and began to levitate above the ground as Drew finally issued a command. "Flygon use flamethrower on Sceptile! Roselia use Magical leaf on Sceptile as well, keep it from dodging!"

Reacting quickly, Blazekin took the flamethrower attack, acting as a shield while Sceptile did the same for magical leaf.

* * *

Having caught up with Yellow and Lucas, Gary's sole focus was set to protecting the kids and getting them out of harm's way. He had herded them off into the downed drop ship's field hospital to keep them safe until backup arrived. He then focused on clearing the inside of the stadium, making it safer for the children.

Gary's Resistance fighters quickly teamed up with the city locals and together the two groups had begun the agonizingly slow process of pushing back the Cipher army which had thinned considerably since the battle started.

"Sir!" one of his troops said as he approached, clutching his side. Gary felt sympathetic for the man, his arm holding his side was drenched in dried blood, and his face pale. "We've managed to push most of the troops out of the stadium, with help from the locals," he said.

"Good work, now go get some medical attention," Gary urged. The soldier shook his head.

"I'll be fine sir, it's just a small wound, and others are banged up a lot worse and need the attention more than I do," he replied.

"Get everyone who needs medical attention to the field hospital, including you, and have everyone who isn't too badly hurt set up a perimeter around the stadium. Civilians included," Gary ordered. The soldier grimly nodded his head before limping off to give the orders.

Gary turned to watch the inside of the stadium, his daughter and Alex were battling the leader of Cipher, and from the looks of it things weren't going good for them. Meanwhile at a far corner of the stadium, Ash and May were battling Drew, and they seemed to pretty even.

What truly scared Gary was that the datapad Dawn made him read seemed to be true. Alex was on his knees, unable to stand, breathing heavily. He recounted everything that happened since the boy recovered from his coma. '_The first sign: if recovered from the emanate coma, subject will have severe mood swings, often letting anger cloud their judgment,'_ Gary remembered as images of Alex throwing temper tantrums returned to him. '_The second sign: losing control of body, mainly limbs. The third sign: severe mental trauma, and finally the fourth sign….' _His mind trailed off as he saw what looked like an elderly couple rushing down the bleachers to the stadium, he quickly followed suit.

* * *

Blue watched Alex helplessly out of the corner of her eyes. He had just fallen to knees gasping for air for seemingly no reason. The trimming on his irises was now too prominent to disregard as an illusion, something was terribly wrong with the fact that he was coughing up blood wasn't helping either.

"Stay focused on the battle," Alex spoke to her in forced words as he struggled to breathe properly. '_Damnit! I can't hold out much longer,' _he said to himself. Knowing he didn't have the strength left to stand he stayed on his knees.

Emily tore her eyes back to the battle field. Both Gallade and Gardevoir were waiting for their next set of orders. Emily would not disappoint them. "Alright Gallade use sword dance to sharpen your blades," Emily commanded. The blade pokemon ran his twin sword arms across each other, sharpening both blades with a shower of sparks.

"_Gardy, you know what to do," _Alex told the embrace pokemon mentally. Gardevoir didn't reply, but he knew her silence meant she understood. The embrace pokemon suddenly charged towards Deoxys. The shadow pokemon stood its ground as the embrace pokemon quickly closed the distance between the two of them.

Once she deemed he was close enough, Gardevoir balled one of her fists up as electric energy passed through her arm. As she raised the thunder punch up to her target, Deoxys changed from its normal form to its defense form, its body becoming more bulky and blocky.

The attack connected with an invisible barrier as Deoxys rose its arms to form a shield. In the distance Blue couldn't help but smirk. At that moment Gardevoir cut off her attack and put a few feet of space between them. After quickly shaking off the shock Deoxys turned to face the Gallade whose blade was just inches from its back.

As Gallade's slash attack collided with the invisible barrier, the sound of soft humming echoed in the space pokemon's ears. The pokemon turned to see the Gardevoir gathering all of her psychic power into a massive purple orb. The energy of the orb swirled and over lapped itself as the layers continued to shift. Some of the more loose energy formed a couple of orbitals around the sphere, spinning at an alarmingly fast rate.

Deoxys made to attack the embrace pokemon, changing into its attack form, causing its body to become sharper and gain a more aggressive look. Just as it was about to land a blow, the embrace pokemon looked up and smirked, the large sphere broke into two segments and swirled behind Deoxys, and in an instant, it was over.

"Alright, Gallade finish it with Psycho-boost slash!" Emily yelled confidently. Gallade's swords, emanating with purple psychic energy hammered into the startled space pokemon's back, not giving it a chance to change forms. The already power attack Psycho-cut attack Gallade made was only magnified one hundred fold by Gardevoir's Psycho-Boost.

The psychic energy swarming from Gallade's blades into Deoxys back was too powerful for the both of them, but Gallade stood firm on his part and finished the attack. The energy had dealt sever damage to Deoxys on its attack mode, the space pokemon was sent flying right into one of the walls that surrounded the stadium, separating the now empty stands from the battle field. Deoxys fell to the ground, unable to move with a dazed look in its eyes.

"Make the catch!" Alex coughed as he used his non-broken arm to hand the girl his last master ball. The ball was like a normal master ball, only with a special crest just under the "M," making it only work on shadow pokemon.

Emily nodded and quickly threw the ball where it landed on Deoxys's head. The ball snapped open and used its red beam to pull the downed pokemon into it. Then the ball closed, falling to the ground and a loud thump sounded from the ball signifying the capture without any struggle. The master ball returned to Blue and she caught it with one of her arms.

Looking at the ball she couldn't help but squeal in joy. "Alex we did it! We did it!" she exclaimed. "That was the most powerful attack I've ever seen Gardy do, when did she learn that?" Alex didn't reply, instead he stared at the ground, his arms being the only thing from collapsing; his entire body shaking from exhaustion, his skin pale.

Then looking back to their pokemon, Gallade was carrying the exhausted embrace pokemon back over to them, her arm looped around his shoulders, his around her back to help steady her. That was when she realized it. '_He poured his own energy into that attack as well,'_ she said to herself.

"Alex?" she voiced out in concern as she kneeled next to him. The boy looked up from the ground to her eyes. Emily had to stifle a surprised yelp when she saw that the crimson red coloring had spread almost halfway to his pupils. The once calm blue looked faded, giving it more of ghostly color as the crimson became more prominent and expressed.

"I'm ok, but I think I have to call it quits here," Alex said weakly, his voice barely above a whisper. "You did a good job," he added as he tried smile at her. Blue felt her heart tear into two.

"Well, that was unexpected, but still irrelevant," The Grandmaster said with a shrug. He hadn't moved the entire fight, and didn't even bother to give a command. Blue wondered if he had the same connection to Deoxys that Alex had with Gardevoir.

* * *

On the other side of the massive natural stone wall, numerous peons were left out of breath. Their white armor speckled in dirt and just, and some with blood as well. Some of the soldiers' visors had crack or had missing chips. "Are you sure the tunnel caved in completely?" a big buff soldier said, he had a red scarf around his neck instead of the normal brown ones.

"Aye sir!" one of the peons answered. "Twenty electrodes used explosion, there's no way anything can get through that tunnel now," he said as he bent over and leaned on his knees to try and capture some of his lost breath.

The blue scarf wearing major nodded approvingly. Taking a look around, most of his forces were winded, many missing, and some full of energy without even a scratch. Still, they had locked the Resistance on the other side of the massive natural defense structure before them. The only way they could possibly hope to get over would be to try and fly over, but then they would helpless to the long range anti-air soldiers located all throughout the city on roof tops.

'_Those scum are too conservative, they won't be bold enough to try it, they already lost one craft to our flak, they won't risk another,' _the major thought to himself. '_Cowards,' _he added with a soft chuckle.

Meanwhile, two troops stood on a building, both taking turns checking the surrounding skies for any of the Resistance crafts. The two troops were obviously bored. With them were two pokemon, a Golduck and an Electabuzz. Both pokemon were napping as their trainers hadn't issued an order for a while.

"This is so pointless! Why are we here when we could be walloping on some Resistance members?" One of the troops complained. "I mean, their wasting my talents here!"

"Oh will you just shut up for once, it's that mouth of yours that got us landed here!" the other soldier replied. The first troop simply huffed and turned his attention towards the stadium, where plumes of smoke still rose from. The second guard growled and turned to face his uncooperative team mate. "Can you be serious for just one mo-," he was suddenly cut off.

"Huh?" the other guard turned to see his partner on the floor of the roof. "Uh, you ok-," the second guard was cut off as he suddenly fell unconscious. Their pokemon both woke up, startled by the sounds of their trainers falling unconscious. Just after they rose to their feet, they fell unconscious as well.

High up in the sky, a group of flying pokemon with psychic types on their backs were flying high above the city putting all of the anti-air threats under hypnosis. Once all of the threats within the given area had been dealt with they returned to the transports. Originally, there were fourteen transports, but just recently the number had increased to forty four.

The pokemon quickly went to their perspective trainers. Dawn sighed in relief when they all came back unharmed. She quickly shared a glance with the team leaders that had regrouped with them. "Well Brock, Richie, Misty, Tracy, you guys ready?"

"Of course!" Richie replied. Brock nodded grimly. Tracy smirked and gave a thumb up and Misty mirrored his move with a soft smile.

"Alright everyone, let's lock and load!" Dawn commanded over the radio. A chorus of acknowledgements came back. The whine of the transports' engines soon toned out all other sounds.

The peons, finally recovered began to relax, not expecting the Resistance. Then suddenly, flood lights rained down on them from the transports and a chorus of yells as Resistance troops and their pokemon jumped off from the transports and began battling the peons.

"What the hell!" the major shouted out in confusion. His troops were in disarray and being forced back from the transports that leveled themselves just above their heads. "What the hell happened to our air coverage!" he shouted into his communications radio built into his helmet. His reply was silent.

"Damnit!" he cursed. "Retreat!" he ordered. The peons gladly acknowledged the order and ran for the cover of the streets like cowards.

Dawn's transport came down lower, so that she could meet the other's eye level. "You guys think you can clear up the streets? She asked.

"You're going to the stadium?" Misty asked. Dawn simply nodded.

"I have to get Gary," she said more to herself then the other. Brock smiled.

"We'll meet you there then, just make sure you roll out the red carpet," he said. Dawn smiled and nodded as she gestured the pilot to go.

"Will do," Dawn said as the craft rose. The rest of blue squadron's crafts did the same.

"Something's wrong here," Tracy said as they watched the transports go.

"Yeah, I feel it too," Richie replied.

* * *

"I grow tired of these games, boy, you are coming with me," The Grandmaster spoke coldly, irritation evident. Blue stood in front of the girl, raising her arms as if to shield Alex from the man.

"No!" Emily roared at him. "He stays here with us, I won't let you take him!"

The Grandmaster's laughter cut through her façade of courage. "You don't even know what he is!" he laughed at her. "Would you be so quick to defend him even if you knew?"

Emily blinked twice in confusion. "I don't know what you're talking about, but I don't care if he would be a monster, I'd never abandon him, he's my friend, but he's also more than that," Blue said as tears threatened to shed from her eyes. "I love him," she muttered under her breath. "And so, I will not let you take him for whatever it is you want him for. I'll die first!" she yelled at him.

"That can be arranged," the masked man said with a chuckle. Emily glared at him and prepared herself. Gallade ready as well while Gardevoir sat out on the side lines, trying to recover all of her lost energy.

Alex was glad that he was so close to the ground, it made it easier to hide the tears the flowed freely. '_Damnit…' _he wept to himself. Her words touched his heart, but because of that, it made him feel all the worse. "Emily, please, just save yourself," he said in between tears.

The girl looked at him for an instant. Worry, concern, love, sympathy reflected in her eyes. They then became as cold as stone as she turned back to her opponent.

As Alex forced his head, praying that the girl had decided to leave him behind and save herself from death. He felt more pain in his heart as she stood firm in front of him. The Darkness bombarded his mind like never before, the agonizing screams threatening to overwhelm his very conscious. _'Damnit, I have to fight this off, for her sake!' _Alex said to himself as he made one last stand against the darkness.

* * *

"Alright, Blazekin time to finish this! Use sky uppercut on Butter free, then follow it up with blaze kick!" May ordered. The large blaze pokemon roared out and charged forward.

"Sceptile, use leaf blade on Flygon, then follow up with solar beam!" Ash commanded. Sceptile took off at the same time as Blazekin.

Both of the third stage Hoenn starters landed their first attacks on their opponents. As Flygon was sent back in midair, Sceptile quickly charged and fired a powerful solar beam attack with the help of its overgrow ability. Blazekin's punch sent Butterfree up in the air, and before the butter fly pokemon knew it Blazekin appeared above it and landed a crushing burning kick that was powered up thanks its blaze ability.

Both of their opponents crashed into the ground with a dazed look. Drew irritably recalled his last two pokemon. "You win this round Ketchum, but mark my words, May will be mine!" Drew yelled as he fled the stadium.

"That snot nosed, bushy…" May growled angrily, and forced herself to stop. She released a sigh and then a yelp of surprise as Ash hugged her.

"Thank you May," he said. May in turn replied with a loving smile and a peck on his cheek.

"Come on," she urged as she pulled on her boyfriend's arm. Both of them looked up to see the familiar transports of the Resistance landing nearby them.

* * *

As Dawn and the rest of blue team swarmed out of the ships they all froze when they saw the center of the field.

Dawn was left speechless, fear for her daughter freezing her to the spot. Her motherly instincts taking over, she looked over to Gary who was just about to jump over the railing into the stadium floor ten meters below to rush to his daughter's aid, then quickly ran over to join the cause.

The Grandmaster stood, towering over Alex as he held Emily by her neck. "Damnit! Let her go!" Alex roared as loud as he could, but his voice was barely audible. Gallade lay on the ground before them, immobilized by pain, Gardevoir fared no better.

The Grandmaster shifted his gaze to the boy through his mask then returned them to the girl. He tightened his grip on her throat, causing her to struggle even more.

"I said let her go!" Alex yelled again, his voice loader, and more feral with anger. The Grandmaster turned and saw that almost all of the blue in his eyes had been replaced by the crimson blood red.

"Very well," the masked man spoke as he threw the girl back with an unseen force. Emily skid across the ground, when she stopped she wasn't moving. Alex couldn't think straight, Emily lay motionless in the distance, he could smell blood, hers.

'_She's! She's-'_ he roared to himself. "You bastard, I'm going to kill you!" Alex bellowed as he gave into the darkness. The boy could feel it coursing through his veins, burning as it went, numbing his body and mind. He didn't care, it felt as if someone had gagged him and began burning him, but he didn't care. Alex wanted blood, he wanted retribution, he wanted vengeance.

"It, it suddenly got very cold," May said with a scared voice. She looked to Ash for comfort and fell into his arms.

"Emily!" Dawn exclaimed as she reached her daughter. "Emily answer me!" Dawn cried as tears flowed down her face. Gary quickly joined her and the two struggled to get a response from the girl. Gary picked the girl up and ran to the Downed drop ship.

Yellow and Lucas who had been helping the Chancy with the field hospital both froze. "Blue!" yellow exclaimed as she rushed to her best friend's side. Lucas was lost for words. He knew battles were rough, but he didn't expect anything like this to happen.

The Chancy were on the girl in an instant, strapping her down to a stretcher, they both began using all of the healing techniques they knew.

"Finally, you let it out," The Grandmaster exclaimed in delight. His laugh echoed across the stadium. _'Brother, you've lost,'_ the Grandmaster said to himself. In front of him, Alex kneeled as the coursing energy shaped his bones back together with sickening sounds and his wounds burned shut. Black markings formed underneath the boys blood red eyes and continued down his cheeks as if he was crying black tears. Alex's arms became engulfed in a purplish, black flame.

All across the stadium, the resistance troops' shadow indicators went off simultaneously. Gary froze as he heard the beeping from his indicator. "The fourth sign; reverse mode," he mumbled to himself as the realization sunk in. Dawn looked him while he spoke, and then turned her attention back to their still motionless daughter.

* * *

Watching Blue be carried away into the drop ship, Ash and May rushed over to the drop ship to see if there was anything they could do. When they arrived, they saw Dawn standing over Emily as the Chancy used recover, and other healing techniques on the girl.

"She's alive," Lucas said as he checked his friend's pulse. "Just unconscious," he added to the distressed parents. Dawn released the breath that she had been holding, color returning to her face as she fell to her knees. Gary did likewise, but fell against the back wall of the room for support.

"Where's Alex?" Yellow asked. Ash and May blinked before looking at each other, then without a word they stormed out of the craft.

* * *

"That wrong feeling you were talking about," Brock said to Tracy. "I can defiantly feel it," Brock said.

"The air feels as cold as ice," Misty agreed. The group looked over towards the stadium which loomed over the buildings. They could see the ring of transports that Cipher used to set up a perimeter. Cipher troops were spilling inside the transports. Some of the transports took off and began to fly off towards the west. Others still sat on the ground. On the other side of the crafts, they could see the troops of blue team setting up their perimeter around the stadium.

"The city is ours!" one of the Resistance captains yelled out in joy, many others joining in a magnificent chorus of cheers. Their pokemon added to the roars of victory.

"I don't like the feel of this, I think we should head inside the stadium," Richie suggested. The others agreed.

* * *

The grandmaster blocked blow for blow that the boy swung at him. His newfound power fueled his rage against the masked man, only making him angrier as he failed to land a hit. The black flames on Alex's arms had taken the shape of swords, extending his reach and turning his arms into twin swords.

With a powerful kick, Alex managed to put some distance between the two of them. Raising an arm, he collected shadow energy into s sphere and shot at the Grandmaster.

Raising his own hand, the grandmaster watched as the sphere of dark energy collided harmlessly against an invisible barrier. "You need work boy, your foot work is sloppy and your attacks random, as interesting as it is to watch, it is pitiful," he said with amusement in his voice.

Alex was no longer in control of his own body, the rage and sorrow had taken control instead, what he thought or tried to do no longer mattered, it was all done on impulse. His own thoughts no longer had any worth in his body.

* * *

Looking around, Alex found himself in his own mindscape. The black substance that was eating his mind slowly, bit by bit had turned into a ravaging typhoon, the golden sphere that he was being held inside was all that had protected him this long, and still protected him even now. Sorrow filled the boy.

"Emily is gone, and it's entirely my fault," he said to himself as he unknowingly curled up into a ball. "Just like mom and dad, they died because of me too," he added. I thought that coming here by myself would protect them, now Emily is gone!" he wept.

"Now I see why my parents never wanted me, I always put them in danger, Its because of me that they died!" Alex continued to weep, unaware that tendrils of the light sphere came down and wrapped around his body.

"Sweetie, you know that's not true!" a familiar voice said, breaking the boy from his sorrow.

"Impossible…" he mumbled to himself.

* * *

With a ferocious swing of one of his sword arms, a wave of black fire stretched from his limbs to the masked man who stood about thirty yards away. The masked man simply jumped out of the way of the attack.

Diving deep down into itself the shadow used its deep and hidden anger to further increase its power. Disappearing in a blink of an eye, Alex landed a bone shattering punch to the grandmaster's face. The target regained his composure after staggering a few steps back. His mask had a healthy crack running down it.

'_This is odd,' _The man said to himself. The broken fragment of his make fell off, clattering on the ground in front of him.

Ash and May came outside of the vessel just in time to watch the mask break. Both of them left out a yelp of surprise at what they saw. From the small opening in the mask, they could see pure black eyes with red irises, and a few strands of emerald green hair. "It can't be," Ash said to himself.

Shaking their heads, they focused on the priority matter at hand. Alex was covered in black flames, flaming swords forming from his hands. As they ran over to him, the two teens stopped dead in their tracks as someone grabbed both of them by their arms.

The two teens turned to see an old woman in a pink dress looking at them. "Leave this to us," she said as an old man in a blue and purple rob stepped forward.

"Who are you?" May asked.

The elderly woman smiled. "Why, my name is Bella, and that is my husband Euagen. We've help raise your son when he was lost," the elderly woman calmly. Both Ash and back went wide eyed. "Now then, Euagen," she said to her husband, who nodded in reply. Euagen approached the shadow enveloped boy and put him in a hold by wrapping his arms under the shadow's, and pulling them back.

"Alex, calm down!" he said in a hushed voice, trying to calm the enraged shadow down. He relaxed when he felt Alex's arms loosen up. He was beginning to relax.

* * *

"Mom? Dad?" Alex asked as he sat next to his parents. May smiled back sweetly, her purple bandana covering up most of her hair, and matching her purple blouse. The long sleeved pink undershirt that she wore under the blouse gave more color, as did her long green skirt. Ash grinned back sheepishly, his messy hair unleashed without a hat; his blue sweater and baggy jeans giving him a casual appearance next to his wife.

"Of course it's us," Ash answered. Alex began to cry again.

"I'm so sorry, because of me you've died, and so many others have died as well, and-"Alex was cut off.

"It's not your fault sweetie," May said trying to calm him down.

"Yes it is!" Alex exclaimed. May pulled her son into a hug.

"Who said it was your fault?" Ash asked. Alex shifted his gaze as the memory came back to him.

* * *

_Hidden amongst the trees a good distance away, the duo could still watch the fateful battle. Alex was frozen with horror as he watched his mother fall to the ground lifeless right next to his father. The cloaked figure that killed them turned and looked in their direction. _

_Gardevoir sensing the man's attention on them was about to teleport them away. However she was too late, as she reached her hand out for the boy, she saw that the cloaked figure had already seized the boy by the throat. _

"_They died to protect you? How pitiful," he said as he dropped the boy. "You are nothing more than a worthless speck of life, not even worth my time," he continued. The man turned to leave, but not before adding one more comment. "They hated you, and yet they still fought for you. It's your fault they died, they saw something in such a pathetic creature as you, something that evades me, but it is of no consequence, you humans will all burn for your crimes."_

_With that the figure suddenly disappeared, leaving the pale boy and his embrace pokemon.

* * *

_

"Well it's obvious he was just trying to mess with you," Ash said. "We never hated you," he added.

"We loved you, more than you could ever imagine," May said. Tears began to flow down Alex's cheeks. "Alex, what's wrong?" May asked her son. Alex shook his head.

"It's nothing. All this time, I was trying to prove to myself that I wasn't worthless, that I had a purpose, that you didn't die in vain," Alex said.

May held her son against her chest, his head just under hers. Ash put a comforting hand on his shoulder. "You never needed to prove yourself. You were never worthless. You saved so many, people and pokemon alike, how could we not be proud, but besides that, you are our son, just the chance that you could have gotten away was enough for us," Ash said.

"But still, if it wasn't for me, you two could have survived, he was after you two, and both sacrificed yourselves for me," Alex said mournfully. May tightened her hug on the boy.

"He wasn't after us, he was after you," She said. Alex blinked and looked at her with a confused expression.

* * *

Euagen gently laid Alex down as he was starting to come to from his reverse mode. He then turned to face the Grandmaster, who had begun to close the distance between them. "Now I understand, it was you who taught him the basic principles of aura," he said.

Euagen didn't respond. So the masked man continued. "You should have at least given him the gloves, then he wouldn't have burned the skin off of his hands, besides we both know how dangerous it is to use aura directly, especially for humans, isn't that right…Mewtwo?" Euagen went wide eyed.

"Don't even try to act surprised, you two have hidden from me for so long It was inevitable that I would eventually find you, but I never expected you to come to me," the master continued. "I'll make you a deal, If you come with me quietly, then I'll let your "friends" keep the boy, if you refuse, I'll take all three of you."

"Euagen, don't do it!" Bella yelled from the distance, sheltering the two teens behind her. Euagen cast a sorrowful look back at his mate before walking over to the masked man. "Euagen!" Bella shouted her voice full of sadness, and fear.

"I'm sorry Bella," Euagen said quietly. He turned towards the Grandmaster just as a Cipher landing craft lowered its boarding ramp behind him. "You have a deal, just let them go," he said.

"Then we have an accord," the mask man chuckled as he led the way for Euagen. The craft rose and flew off as the two figures boarded.

"No!" Bella shouted as she watched the craft go. Ash and May ran past her to Alex.

* * *

"Mom? Dad?" Blue spoke as she woke from her sleep. "Oh, my head, what happened? Where's-"she suddenly broke from her thoughts as she tried to rush out from the craft.

Yellow quickly caught her friend as she stumbled on her feet. "Come on Blue," Yellow said happily as she led her best friend outside, a worried Mother and Father right behind her.

Alex opened his eyes, allowing the calm sapphire blue to take in the wondrous colors of the morning sky. The light from the morning sun pasted over the stadium, enveloping the land with light. Ash and May's faces were the next thing he saw as his eyes readjusted themselves.

"What happened?" he asked before he was pulled into a hug by his future mother. As soon as she released him, he continued to shift his gaze across the rest of the landscape. Gardevoir was struggling to stand up, having been knocked out after the battle, Gallade was doing the same. Alex reached his mind out and connected it with the embrace pokemon, who accepted his gesture immediately and began shimmering with happiness.

Alex then turned to see Emily, she was alive! He couldn't believe it! Looking up at the sky, he vowed this to be a new beginning. He knew what he was, many of his friends and family knew know, but even more, he could finally accept who and what he was; a shadow, but more than that he was Alex Maple Ketchum. He knew his parents were watching over him, loving and protecting him in their own way, and he vowed to make them proud!

* * *

**And so concludes the first part of this series, I hope you enjoyed it! The next part will be: **_**The Flames of the Resistance **_**so stay tuned! And don't forget to tell me what you think of it!**


End file.
